FLCL: 2nd
by Keystaff Master
Summary: It's been three years since she left, and took my life with her. Since then my life has been completely normal, but I didn't expect it to last... It's fooly cooly... again...
1. Fooly Cooly Again

**Fooly Cooly...Again**

_'Nothing ever happens here, not anymore. Not since she left and took my life with her. "Mabase," just another word for ordinary. The ordinary town that I live in. When she was here, though, this could have been considered the weirdest place on Earth, second to Tokyo at least. When she was here, it was a town of giant robots, falling satellites, interstellar pirates, and guitars. Guitars... her guitar, that's all she left me with to remember her by. Her Midnight Blue Rickenbacker 4003 bass guitar to be exact. That and her memory, was all she left behind.'_

"I lost him again because of you Ta-kun: we couldn't pull it off... Wanna come along..? Know what? Forget it. 'Cause you're still a kid, Ta-kun. Save it for next time."

_'For three years I've analyzed the last thing she said to me for a clue, something for me to hope for. But still, I can't figure it out. "Save it for next time?" What did she mean by that? Would there ever be a "next time"? Three years have gone by and I'm pretty sure there hasn't been one. You know what? Whatever. Nothing ever happens here. I guess... I'll just have to live with it...'_

Naota woke up to the same sound he woke up to every day: the repetitive beep of his alarm clock. The boy sat up, rubbing his eyes. He'd did it again. Staying up too late watching TV and messing with his guitar. If he remembered correctly, he went to bed sometime around three. Normally this wouldn't really matter... until it hit him that he had band practice today.

Naota face-palmed, running his hand down his face with a sigh. He jumped to his feet, pulling on his dark, tan shorts over his red plaid boxers and slipping into his navy blue hoody. Naota threw the strap of his Rickenbacker around his back before dashing out the door and down the stairs.

_'Nothing much has changed around the Nandaba household since she left. Canti is still the housekeeper. Cleaning the dishes, washing the windows, and beating the carpets. My dad still works as a freelance writer, though still not much success with his "Kamon Mabase." (What a stupid pun. Something only my dad could think of. And, yeah, he's just as "mature" as three years ago.) Miyu-Miyu, my cat, is still just as lazy and fat as ever, though he's got the occasional white hair here and there. The only major difference is the absence of my Grandpa. He died about a year ago. Apparently choking on curry that was just wasn't mild enough. But I guess it's okay, he lived to be 83, so he had a long run. And about my brother... I'd rather not talk about it now...'_

Naota ran through the kitchen only to be grabbed by the head and lifted into the air by Canti, his legs still in "walk mode" even though he'd been lifted off the ground.

Naota struggled, trying to break free of the robot's grip, "Canti! Not now!"

Canti responded with a picture of a plate with eggs and bacon flashing across his face-err, screen.

Naota continued to flail his legs, "No! I'm going to be late for practice!"

Even though he'd grown since she left, Naota was still no match for the "Lord of Black Flame".

Canti continued to flash the picture of the eggs and bacon.

"Fine!" Naota agreed, "A piece of toast and that's it!"

* * *

Naota ran through the streets of Mabase stuffing the toast in his mouth as fast as he could without choking. Canti had forgotten to put butter on it again, great. However, his eyes soon fell upon the huge, yellow, iron-shaped Medical Mechanica Plant.

_'The MM Plant. It's just sat there since she left. Sitting in its slanted stature. No longer does smoke blow from it, no longer does it use my N.O. channel to send its robots into Mabase. It just sits there like an iron that somebody absentmindedly left on the ironing board after walking off and waiting for it to cool down. It just sits there as a reminder, a symbol what this town once was... Prison.'_

Naota soon found himself standing in front of a pair of large, metal gates, centered in the middle of a high, yellow wall. On the wall to his left, a plaque that read: "The Ninamori Residence" and a speaker with a button below it. Naota pressed it.

"State your name," the speaker promptly ordered.

"Nandaba Naota," Naota replied, speaking back into the speaker.

The man behind the speaker started to reply, only to be interrupted, "Where have you been! We've been waiting for two hours!"

"Sorry, Eri. Overslept," Naota replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Really? But that's so unlike you, Naota," She mused sarcastically.

"Look, will you just let me in?"

She sighed, "Okay, hurry up."

* * *

_'After she left, I took up her guitar. I didn't expect her too, but Ninamori did as well. She took guitar and bass lessons, along with me. I usually played bass, with the Rickenbacker; but, if necessary, I could play guitar and Eri bass. Gaku took up keyboarding and Masashi took the drums. And so was the birth of: Medical Metallica. Yeah, it's a dumb name, but whatever. I don't really care. Back on the subject of Ninamori. We practice in her garage. She supplies the amps, speakers, and basically everything so we've got to use them on her terms.'_

The garage door in front of Naota lifted, revealing Gaku messing with his keyboard, Masashi tuning his drum set, and Ninamori tapping her foot impatiently, pouting.

Ninamori had changed her look, she wore a vanilla colored hoody, which looked almost identical to my old blue one. A short, plaid skirt with some yellow details and light, tan tennis shoes, with yellow details as well.

Naota grimaced, knowing all too well what was to come next.

"Your late again!" Ninamori shouted, poking his forehead firmly.

"Sorry. I forgot to set my alarm," Naota sighed, but he knew that wasn't going to cut it.

"Is it really that difficult for you? How are we ever going to go big if we don't practice enough!"

She continued to shout, while Masashi leaned over to Gaku, "They're fighting again..."

"Almost like an old married couple," Gaku sighed.

"Think we should stop them?" Masashi asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms behind his head, "I mean it's already getting late and we've already missed a lot of practice time."

"Nah. If they decide to apologize, maybe they'll kiss and make out," Gaku replied, pushing his glasses up so they gleamed in an odd fashion.

Masashi cocked an eyebrow, "Dude... you need a girlfriend."

"I'm sorry, Eri. It wont happen again. I promise," Naota swore, his hand over his heart (somewhat facetiously).

Ninamori stuck her face in Naota's, her angry expression melting to a warm smile, "No. It's okay. I guess we just can't expect so much from you. After all, being on time for something is so difficult."

Naota was ready to argue, but realized... you can't. Not with her.

"Yeah, I just don't know what's wrong with me," Naota lamented, no longer caring to hide his sarcasm, "I'm ever so sorry, Eri. I swear it wont happen again."

Ninamori smiled, "Good. Now, let's get to practicing."

Ninamori turned, grabbing her vanilla colored Gibson Les Paul off its stand and slinging its strap over her shoulders, "Let's get to work."

Naota rolled his eyes as he removed his Rickenbacker from his back.

* * *

_'Mamimi left around the same time she did, she said she was going to Tokyo to become a photojournalist. I haven't heard from her since, I hope she's doing alright. No... she's probably doing fine. After all she went through in this town, tackling the big city wouldn't be a problem. Speaking of the robots, I've given them all names to identify them by. The first robot to attack Mamimi and Canti at the burnt down school, I've named him: Fire Starter. The balloon on stilts that came out of Ninamori's head: Cat's Eye. The huge gun slinging hand that trashed Mabase: Brittle Bullet. You're probably wonder why I named them. Honestly, I don't know. I guess to make an attempt and hold onto my sanity (and at least to know who I was talking about during interviews with the government). That reminds me of that guy with those... eyebrows. I haven't seen him since she left. I heard rumors floating around that the department of the government he worked for was closed down. I don't really know why, but I don't really care.'_

Ninamori snapped her fingers in front of Naota's face, snapping him out of the daze he was in.

"Hello? Anyone home?" the violet hair girl joked, "Practice is over. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

"Ha-ha," Naota muttered sarcastically, pulling his Rickenbacker onto his back.

Ninamori flicked Naota in the forehead.

"What was that for!?" Naota shouted annoyed.

"You wanna do something later?" She quickly responded.

"Huh?" Naota replied dumbly.

"You and me. You want to do something tonight?" She asked simply, staring at him innocently with her violet colored eyes and a small smile spreading across her face.

Naota's eyes widened, as did Ninamori's as she realized what he was thinking.

"Not that you pervert..." she huffed, flicking him in the forehead again.

"Me the pervert?" Naota smirked, rubbing the spot on his head that she's managed to flick perfectly a second time.

"Look, do you want to do something or not?" She asked, once more sticking her face in his.

Naota looked at her for a moment, before averting his eyes to the side, "Sure..."

Ninamori grinned, clasping Naota's hands in her own, "Great! There's this rebuild of the Eva series showing at the theater now. You want to go see it?"

Naota shrugged, "Sure. What time?"

"I've got tickets for the five O'clock show," she said smiling.

"Then I'll see you at five then," Naota replied.

Ninamori didn't say anything more, just smiled a bit wider and turned to leave. As Naota turned to leave, however, he thought of something...

"She already has tickets?"

* * *

The large bus headed at a steady pace towards the quiet town of Mabase. Upon it rode a passenger whom was very familiar to the small town.

Flash.

The young women sighed, sticking her head out the window and snapping a photo.

Flash.

She sat back down, running her fingers through her naturally mahogany colored hair, which now hosted a few faint black and blonde highlights.

She took a deep breath, breathing in the fresh air which was quite an improvement over the polluted city air, "It feels good to be back home..."

* * *

Naota sat at the bench across from the bus stop, tuning his guitar. Three things were running through his mind. 1.) Two hours until I meet Eri for the show. 2.) Why is there a bench across from the bus stop and not at it? And 3.) Why does he spend so much time tuning his guitar?

_'Why do I spend so much time tuning this guitar? I heard countess people tell me its just a waste of time. Maybe it is, but I'd rather be doing something than not doing anything even if that something really isn't... well, anything. But whatever. Basically everything I do is just waste time anyway. I guess that's just my life. A waste of time.'_

A bus suddenly rolled to a stop in front of him. As the doors opened, a crowd of people poured from the door. Each individual going off on their own personal directions. Naota looked up at the bus for a moment, before returning to his guitar. The bus drove off.

As the smog billowed from the end of the exiting bus, a young women stood there for a moment staring into the sky with her brown eyes. She wore a short, brown, plaid skirt with yellow and red details, a bluish black jacket which she wore unzipped, revealing the white undershirt she wore and her fair bust. She had a pair of long, black socks and a pair of brown shoes. Her only carry on was a large, heavy suitcase that looked like the kind you'd bring back after traveling the world and putting stickers from all the places you visited on it.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips, before she began announcing proudly, "Look out, Mabase! Mamimi's ba-"

She turned around, her eyes locking with Naota's mid-sentence.

They stood there, for what felt like an eternity. Each staring straight into the others eyes. Feelings welled up inside them, but neither knew how to express them. Just as fast as their eyes met, they found themselves in the middle of the street in a tight embrace. Each lost in their own euphoria to even notice the cars honking at them.

They finally broke the hug, both of them composing themselves after the sudden onslaught of affection. While Naota scratched the back of his head nervously, Mamimi clamped her hands behind her skirt and swayed slightly back and forth girlishly.

Naota was the first to speak and break the silence, "Mamimi, can't believe it's you! I didn't expect you to ever come back to this dull town!"

"It's a good retreat from the big city, it's nice out here. Besides, I had to come back to taunt all those old bullies of mine with my success," Mamimi said, smiling.

Naota was a bit disappointed, though her couldn't place why...

"Oh."

Mamimi blinked as she looked at him, but her smile quickly returned.

She patted Naota playfully on the head, "And I had to see my little Ta-"

She stopped herself and the young guitarist looked up for her.

She smiled returned, "Naota."

Naota smiled back, "Still the same old Mamimi I can see..."

The cars around them continued to honk, but both were far to lost in the moment to really care.

"Mamimi?"

"Hmm?"

"Let's get something to eat. My treat."

Mamimi couldn't help but blush, "Okay..."

"Oh! Almost forgot," Naota turned around, grabbing his guitar of the bench and slinging it around his back.

Mamimi raised an eyebrow, "Her... guitar?"

* * *

The red haired man found himself standing in complete darkness with nothing but a dim light shining down upon him. He wore a black suit. And upon his brow, two pieces of nori, acting as his "eyebrows."

A large sky blue monolith appeared before him. Upon it, a symbol of two M's, one over the other, and below that that number: 01.

"Amarao..." The monolith spoke, in a voice that could only be described as "booming".

"What do you want with me?" Amarao asked with a heavy sigh.

A second monolith appeared to his right. Identical to the first, except the number: 02.

"We have called you here because we have found new use for you..." 02 answered, with a voice slightly higher pitched than that of 01's.

"And... what might that be?" he asked looking up at the monolith before him.

A third and final monolith appeared to his left, this time with the number: 03.

"We require you to... look into somethings," 03 replied, it's voice lower than that of 01.

"Things?" Amarao cocked his nori-brow, "What kind of things?"

"The return of familiar faces," 02 answered.

"Familiar?" Amarao thought out loud.

"Yes, one that you are much _more_ than familiar with," 03 added.

Amarao's eyes shot open so fast his nori-brows could have shot off into outer space, "Y-you don't mean..."

"She is coming back," 01 stated with great solemn.

* * *

Naota and Mamimi laughed as they sat at a table at the Café Bleu. They had split an order of fries and were having a good time.

"So," Naota started, sipping from his soda, "how's life been to you?"

"Great!" Mamimi started, shoving a fry into her mouth, but continuing anyway, "After I left I went to Tokyo, I got my big break as a photojournalist. You may find this hard to believe, but that Tokyo is one weird place..."

Naota grinned, "How so?"

"There's always some giant lizard or big turtle attacking that place. But still... it's nothing compared to good ol' Mabase," she grinned.

"So, have you been anywhere else?" Naota asked, dipping a few fries into his ketchup, before shoving them into his mouth.

"Oh, yeah..." the redhead replied coolly, "I've been to New York, Hong Kong, Madrid, Paris, Moscow, Los Angeles, just to name a few."

"Really? New York? Is that where you got the new hairdo?" Naota joked.

Mamimi tugged on one of her blonde highlights, "Naota, no famous person has a normal hairdo. I mean look at Pink or Elvis."

Naota cocked an eyebrow, "How do you group those two in together?"

Mamimi brought her hand to one side of her mouth and leaned a little closer, "Well, they did both gain a whole bunch of weight all the sudden. Only difference is, one did because they were pregnant."

"But Pink was never pregnant..." Naota titled his head.

Mamimi giggled, tracing her finger around the top of her glass, "I never said Pink was."

Naota and Mamimi laughed.

Mamimi had proven to be just as weird as ever, but Naota shook it off wanting to ask a more important question.

"Umm... Mamimi? I was wondering... Do you have a place to stay?" Naota asked, trying his best not to sound like a jerk if she took it the wrong way.

Mamimi frowned, "I'd rather not go back to my parents... Not after leaving for three years. It was bad enough over there before I left..."

"You could stay with me," Naota said almost automatically.

Mamimi brightened, "You mean it!?"

"Sure, my Grandpa isn't around anymore and I doubt (know) my dad would mind." Naota replied, scratching his head, trying to hide his reddening cheeks.

"Great! Let's get going then," Mamimi said, reaching for her luggage, which Naota intercepted.

"I'll take this," he said bending down to pick up the bag.

"Well, well, quite the gentleman, aren't we? Maybe I should call you: Naota-san?" Mamimi chuckled.

"Well, I have grown up..." Naota's eyes inadvertently became fixated on Mamimi's smooth legs, "You've grown up too..."

Naota quickly stood back up, ignoring those stupid, boyish urges, "Come on, I'll pay at the counter."

_'I'm such a pervert. I can count three times I did or said something that could be considered perverted. First, during practice over at Ninamori's house. "You want to do something tonight?" Only I would take it that way... Second, just now! Me looking at Mamimi's legs like I did. And what I was thinking... And third, when I woke up this morning. Well, that happens every day, so I'm not sure it counts. Anyway. I was never like this before she left. Whatever she did, I certainly am not the same little boy from three years ago.'_

_

* * *

  
_

Far off in the hill countryside that surrounded the small town of Mabase, along a deserted and derelict road, a lone rider came to a stop over looking the vast valley that Mabase seemed to fit quite comfortably into. The engine of the small vehicle hummed against the otherwise quiet and silent starry night sky that hung just above. As the shadow looked over the town through its thick riding goggles, where a thick aura of urgency loomed. The rider quickly gave a sharp kick to the kick start and took off like a bat out of hell, its scarf flapping wildly behind.

* * *

Once more, within the darkness, the three monoliths stood.

"The time has come..." 01 started.

"It's time to activate the N.O.," 03 finished.

"It is time... for us to draw him out..." 02 exclaimed.

They spoke in unison, "It is time for Medical Mechanica to return!"

Naota stopped dead in his tracks. As the sound of the siren reached his ears, his pupils shrink to the eerie sound.

The two were standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

Mamimi turned to Naota, "Naota-san? What's wrong..."

Naota turned around, confirming his worst fears...

The Medical Mechanica Plant was back in business, the lights around it shining upon it and the smoke once more bellowing from its sides.

Naota suddenly doubled over, clutching his forehead in pain (which was immense).

"Naota!" Mamimi screamed, running to his side.

"Ma-Mamimi... get out of... here! I...don't want you to... get hurt!" Naota stammered, trying his best to hold it in.

"No way!" she screamed, "I'm not leaving you here!"

"Mamimi... I-I'm sorry... I... can't hold it any-"

He could hold back the inevitable in any longer.

Naota screamed. The thing he tried so hard to hold back, bursting from his forehead. The long, slender horn, flesh around the bottom, but becoming metallic as it went, stuck out from the boy's forehead.

Naota stared in horror at the sharp metallic blade sticking from his head, "A... horn?"

The rest of the horn forced its way through the boy's cranium. Its long, thick arm following the long, sharp index finger. Alongside of which, were three not as sharp nor as long fingers. Naota struggled to keep his balance with the huge arm sticking out of his skull.

All Mamimi could do was gaze in horror, "It's fooly cooly... again..."

The arm of the machine placed its hand on Naota's head, giving the leverage it needed to force its shoulder and upper torso out of Naota, followed by its second arm. The robot then placed both its hands on Naota and with one good push, forced the rest of his body from the young boy's head.

Naota fell back into Mamimi's arms as the robot landed a few yards in front of them. The robot had a T-like shape. It almost looked like some sort of dinosaur. Its head was quite small compared to the rest of its body, but its neck was thick and powerful. The creature was slightly hunched over. Its pointed shoulders reached past its arms a few feet. Its arms contained two sections, the upper being a little more thick then the lower. Its waist had a hourglass-like shape. Its legs were long, but because of its crouched stature, it didn't stand as tall. It also had a long, thick tail which purpose was probably to counter balance the robots heavy upper body. It only had one weapon, it amazingly sharp index fingers. Sharp as a scalpel's edge.

Naota panted looking up at the machine, "Scalpel's Edge..."

Scalpel's Edge rose his huge arm, ready to bring it down on them both and end their lives. Which it would have easily done, if it wasn't for the bus that was rolling towards it. Scalpel turned its head, its eyes locking onto the threat of the oncoming headlights. With one swift turn he sliced the entire roof from the bus with a single swipe of its index finger. Even so, the bus rolled by, minus its roof.

Naota and Mamimi stared in amazement, "Oh shi-"

Scalpel rose its blade once more.

"Mamimi!" Naota screamed, throwing himself over her.

All the two could do not was what for the final strike, which never came. The two opened their eyes, finding Canti standing before them, holding back Scalpel's blade between his hands.

"Lord Canti!" Mamimi gasped.

Canti turned to them, flashing a thumbs up on his screen.

"Come on!" Naota said helping Mamimi to her feet and out of harms way.

Scalpel's eyes locked with Canti's screen. Scalpel then gave what could be considered the robot equivalent of a smirk. A question mark flashed across Canti's screen. Scalpel lifted his second arm. Canti's question mark morphed to a exclamation. Canti grabbed the other blade, seconds before it could reach him. Luckily, because Canti was made by MM as well, the blades weren't sharp enough to slice through the material of his hands. Scalpel continued to exert all of his strength upon upon the smaller robot.

Naota turned around, allowing Mamimi to continue forward to a safer place. As he watched the two robots struggle against one another, emotion after emotion began to well up inside him.

"Canti..." Naota began as helpless expression spread across his face, "He's fighting for our lives... and I can't do a thing."

Naota turned away from the fight, lowering his head in shame, "I don't have any powers... I can't even protect the ones I care about... My friends... The town... Mamimi..."

Naota clenched his fist angrily, "No, I'm not going to run away. I'm not going to be useless. Not this time."

He reached behind his back, removing the Rickenbacker.

"This time," Naota pulled the cord, the guitar starting up with a steady hum.

Naota turned back to the battle, a fierce fire burning in his eyes, "I'll fight."

Canti was reaching his limit, not even he was strong enough to hold off this monstrosity for long. As the MM bot's knees buckled, it seemed like the end was nigh. Naota's guitar collided with the side of Scalpel's head, sending the robot into the side of the building and bring down the entirety of the wall atop it. Canti stood up beside Naota, giving him a nod.

Mamimi gasped at the sight of the twelve year old boy she once knew successfully downing a machine ten times his size. "Naota?" she choked out sheepishly.

Scalpel recovered from the blow, realigning his lower jaw. The robot turned towards Naota and Canti, activating his scanners.

Target 1: Nandaba Naota. Threat: Minimum.

Target 2: Medical Bot #0235. Threat: Medium.

Scalpel roared, bringing its blades up for battle. Naota gripped his guitar.

Naota leapt, swinging his Rickenbacker down at the dinosaur-like machine; however, Naota made contact with nothing but the street. Scalpel had leapt into the air and avoided the blow. With a mid-air flip, the hellbent MM bot brought his thick tail down over Naota. Canti grabbed Naota by the collar and leapt back, pulling him out of the way just before the tail made contact. Scalpel's tail blow landed in the street, tearing through the asphalt and making a small crater. Canti dropped Naota jumping towards the robot, ready to land a kick to its side. Unfortunately, Scalpel has anticipated this move and span around, knocking Canti away with his tail. With the momentum from his spin, Scalpel ensnared Naota in his claws. Naota dropped his Rickenbacker in the process, leaving him defenses and at the mercy of the robot before him.

Scalpel brought the struggling Naota to eye level and opened his jaws. He could only dangle lifelessly as the robot prepared to swallow him whole.

Naota shut his eyes tight, "Haruko..."

A gun blast filled his ears and forced his eyes open violently. Smoke rose from behind the machine. The creature fell to his knees, dropping Naota in the process. Naota acted quickly to move back before Scalpel fell on top of him. Naota looked beyond the robot on the ground before him.

At the end of the street stood a women. Beside her, a yellow 1963 GL 150 Vespa, which also hosted a white 1967 Gibson Flying V. In her hands, a red 1961 Gibson EB-0, which she held in the Shotgun position. Her hair salmon. Her eyes bright green. Her once red jacket now black with a few yellow details. A large, red ridding scarf was around her neck. Her sleeves from her undershirt, faint yellow, as well as her pants. Her tall boots were now black. Her gloves black with yellow cuffs.

"Lunch time," she said simply.

Scalpel rose to it feet, its eyes locking onto the women.

Target 3: Haruhara Haruko. Threat: Maximum.

Naota's jaw dropped, "She's... back..."

Scalpel charged the salmon haired women, its claws drawn and ready to strike. Haruko scoffed, grabbing the Flying V off her Vespa. The moped, by itself, hastily drove out of harms way. Scalpel lifted its claws. Haruko bashed her two guitars onto the ground, propelling her into the air and over the attacking robot. She delivered a kick to the back of the machine's head as it zoomed under her.

Haruko landed before Naota, who was speechless. Both remained silent. Naota could only gaze up into her lime green eyes. Haruko stood doing the same, staring down at him with her mouth hidden under her riding scarf. Naota finally managed to control his quivering lower lip and form the words that were so simple in theory, but so difficult in practice.

Naota spoke, "You came back..."

For the first time in three years, Naota bore witness to her signature, cocky smile, "I told you to save it for next time..."

Naota lowered his head, doing his best to hold back the tears, "I didn't think you would ever come back..."

Haruko gentle placed her hand under Naota's chin, pushing it up and allowing their eyes to meet once more, "I had to... for you, Ta-kun..."

Naota picked up his Rickenbacker, taking his place beside Haruko. Canti did as well, taking battle stance beside the alien woman.

Haruko grinned, "It's fooly cooly again."

Scalpel turned around enraged, it was ready to end this battle once and for all. Scalpel readied his scalpel-like index fingers and charged the three. Naota jumped into Canti's palms, the Lord of Black Flame boosting him into the air. Haruko slammed the ground with her Flying V and EB-0, sending a shock wave towards the charging robot. Naota flipped his Rickenbacker around, firing a shotgun-like blast at the shock wave. The two collided, causing the a mound of earth to burst from the ground and knock Scalpel's Edge into the air. Haruko jumped back, landing in Canti's hands. Canti boosted her into the air as well. The green eyed alien girl bashed her guitars together, once more combining into the mock red Gibson EDS 1275 Double Neck.

Haruko span around, Naota's feet landing on her double neck, "Let's finish this!"

She forced Naota forwards, his guitar ready to deliver the finishing blow. A red symbol started to glow on his forehead. Scalpel analyzed the target flying towards him.

Target: Atom-

The explosion filled the sky over the city of Mabase.

As the smoke cleared from the night sky, Naota stood in the middle of the street. The symbol on his forehead faded away as he looked into the clearing sky.

Haruko smiled, devilishly, as she looked upon the boy, "Well, you really have grown up..."

* * *

_'And there it is. Just as I thought my life was returning to normal, it's fooly cooly all over again. Haruko's back and once more staying with me. I left the top bunk just the way it was since she left. I guess it was a good thing I left it the way it was. Mamimi is sleeping on our futon in the family room. I afford her my bed, but she turned it down, she said she was used to couches. Well, whatever. I guess this is just another day of my life. Though, I can't help but think I forgot something...'_

Naota sat up in his bed, "Eri!"

Ninamori Eri stood outside the entrance to the Mabase Auditorium, leaning against the wall, with a grimace on her face. Eri looked down at her ticket, before pulling the second ticket out from her pocket and tearing it in two.

"You jerk..." Ninamori huffed.

* * *

**Ride on Shooting Star**

Orange no slide utusu sora

Sponge no pride burasagete

Spider

Iki touta sono yakan wa

kakusanaku tatte ii'n da

Iro no tsuita yume mitai na

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

Grunge no hamster otona bite

Revenge no logster hiki tsurete

Sniper

fuchi dotta sono sekai ni

nani ga mier'ute iiunda nerau mae ni

sawaritai na

Ride on shooting star

kimi wo sagashite kindan shojoujju

uso wo tsuita

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

* * *

**Episode Trivia:**

1.) "When she was here, though, this could have been considered the weirdest place on Earth. Second to Tokyo at least." This is a reference to that fact that most weird things happen in Tokyo in the Anime world.

2.) The death of Naota's Grandpa was based off a similar incident in Episode 3 of FLCL, where he almost choked on curry that was to spicy.

3.) Like sour, pulpy, and sweet drinks were part of FLCL, dark toast and light toast will be an important part of FLCL: 2nd. This will become more clear later on.

4.) Most robots from FLCL are named after their episode's, these include Fire Starter and Brittle Bullet. While Cat's Eye is a reference to its cat like eye.

5.) "There's this new live action adoption of Neon Genesis Evangelion." This is based off of the actual fact that Weta Workshop (Behind Lord of the Rings and King Kong), ADV, and Gainax are working on a live action adoption. In the second episode of FLCL, it is revealed that NGE exists as anime in the FLCL world. And thus, the characters of FLCL would exist in the "real world." That is, if you are to believe FLCL's already questionable logic.

6.) The look of the MM monoliths are based off of the SEELE monoliths of Neon Genesis Evangelion and are blue based off of what the world would have looked like if the MM Plant were to activate and flatten the world.

7.) Naota and Mamimi dine at the Café Bleu, which first appeared in episode 5, Brittle Bullet.

8.) "There's always some giant lizard or big turtle attacking that place." Referring to Tokyo once more, is a reference to Godzilla and Gamera.

9.) 'And third, when I woke up this morning. Well, that happens every day, so I'm not sure it counts.' While Naota is explaining why he is perverted is based on... ahh... Well, I think the guys reading this will no what I'm talking about.

10.) Scalpel's Edge is a guest from my upcoming book called: Machine. He looks identical, but goes under the name: Skalpell.

11.) The "This time I'll fight." line is the same one Kairi uses after obtaining her Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts 2. (Expect a couple Kingdom Hearts references.)

12.) Canti's ID number seen while Scalpel's Edge is scanning his targets is #0235. These are the numbers of my favorite episodes of FLCL.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, so, yeah I'm back. I've begun working on my fic again. There was a long set back due to my loss of my laptop, but I've over come that and I'm finally back writing this fic. So, a couple notes. I'm currently redoing each chapter I've made so far. By this I mean editing and rewriting to a degree. So if what you read now wasn't what you read before that's why. I'm basically cleaning it up and making it closer to what I want it to be. And I want it to be as amazing as possible. (;P) So, keep your eye out for rewrites of chapters 1-9 and for the upcoming 10-18.

* * *


	2. Party Favors

**Party Favors**

_'I've had the weirdest things sticking out of my head. Besides just horns, I've had cat ears and a gun hammer. On another occasion, I've had a guitar pulled out of my head. The horns, they just kept getting weirder and weirder. And now that they're back again... I don't know what to expect, but this one has to be the weirdest...'_

Naota sat, frowning at his reflection in the mirror before him. He placed his finger upon the object sticking from his forehead and forced it back into his noggin. Sighing he opened the drawer beside him, grabbing a large, square-shaped band-aid and two smaller ones two help re-enforce it.

Naota sighed, "As if this doesn't complicate things enough... I have to apologize to Eri."

* * *

Naota walked into the living room, where Mamimi sat petting Miyu-Miyu and watching TV, wearing nothing but her plaid skirt and white T-shirt. Naota tried to tiptoe by, but he was nowhere near stealthy enough to avoid the young photojournalist.

"And where might you be going, Naota-san?" Mamimi asked without turning her head from the TV.

"Umm... Eri's house. I have to... talk to her about something..." Naota stammered scratching his nose and averting his gaze as a slight blush spread over his face.

"Eri?" Mamimi tilted her head in thought.

"Ninamori Eri..." Naota specified reluctantly.

"Oh! The mayor's daughter... and your little _girlfriend_?" she turned smiling.

Naota was quick on the defense, "There's nothing between Eri and I. We're just friends."

"Why do you call her 'Eri'?" the redhead asked simply, turning around on the couch and laying her head on her crossed arms.

Naota looked up for a moment, thinking about it. He didn't really know why...

Naota looked back to her, only to find Mamimi face barely an inch from his. Her eyes were locked on the band-aids on his forehead.

"It's fooly cooly again. Isn't it?" she asked, reaching for the band-aids.

Naota moved back out of her reach, attempting to avoid the subject, "No. It's just... uh. Yesterday, during the fight with that machine, I hit my head..."

Mamimi continued to move closer, "Ohhh... Poor little boy," she teased, "let Mamimi kiss it and make it all better..."

Naota continued to move back, falling over the arm of the love seat, Mamimi climbing on top of him, straddling his hips. Naota's face turned deep red as he looked downwards to keep his eyes from meeting her's. Mamimi pulled the band-aids from his head and revealed what he had tried to hide from her.

Upon Naota's forehead, sat a curled up, fleshy cylinder. If you were to take a strip of paper and roll it down itself, you had Naota's new horn. Comparable to a fruit-by-the-foot or a fruit flip for you who buy the generic brand.

Mamimi grinned, "See? I know when you're keeping secrets from me, Naota-san."

She began poking and prodding the curled up chunk of flesh. To her surprise it slowly unraveled as she did so.

"This one is almost as fun as your kitty ears! There almost like those things you blow at parties," the young women exclaimed, the horn proceeding to unravel under her touch.

"Aghh... Mamimi, stop I have to go see Eri," Naota whimpered as he found the handling of his horn hypnotizing... almost pleasing.

"What was that, Naota-san?" she asked nonchalantly, the horn having almost completely uncoiled.

"Careful, it might spit on you..." Haruko said, standing over the two. Wearing her trademark red hoody and black pants.

"Oh, hey, Haru-san..." Mamimi greeted, climbing off of Naota.

Naota sat up, forcing the horn back in and placing the band-aids back over it.

Haruko looked down at him with a smirk, "Just like old times. Huh, Ta-kun?"

Naota's eyebrows narrowed, "Why is this happening again?"

Haruko scoffed, taking a seat on the couch, "Why you asking me? Why would I know?"

Naota's expression angered, "You decided to come back at a very... _convenient_ time..."

"Justa' co-winki-dink, I guess..." the salmon haired girl yawned making herself comfortable.

"Sure..." Naota replied, seemingly, unconvinced.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Haruko bantered, waving her hand negligently.

"Eri!" Naota exclaimed taking off for the door.

Mamimi stood, staring at the alien women, _'Why _is_ she back?'_

_

* * *

  
_

A large, yellow crane lifted the clawed arm from the crater that had been made after the explosion of the MM robot that was once named: Scalpel's Edge.

Amarao stood in front of the impression, scratching his chin.

"See, Kitsurubami? Just like last time. Medical Mechanica sends its toys out for Raharu and co. to play with, then leaves them lying about after they're broken. Leaving us with the cleanup," Amarao scoffed, turning to his lieutenant.

Kitsurubami just sighed, her feet dangling in the crater, continuing to look over the radiation readings the remains gave off on her laptop. She still looked the same as three years ago, minus the fact she'd grown a little.

"I wonder why they even brought us back?" he thought to himself.

"Probably just to make that government think that the events unfolding here in Mabase were being looked into. Covering Medical Mechanica's true objectives..." Kitsurubami deduced.

Amarao sat, slightly surprised by her insightful response, "Umm... Most likely."

The blonde haired lieutenant turned her eyes towards the commander, her eye twitching, _'He's still wearing those damn eyebrows.'_

_

* * *

  
_

Naota leaned against Eri's bedroom door, doing his best to apologize through it, "Eri, please, I said I was sorry..." Naota groaned.

He'd been standing outside her door for more than a half-hour now, still she refused to see him, nor speak to him.

"Eri-chan, please, I'll do anything to make it up to you."

Naota almost never called her Eri-chan. Only on very special occasions. It was his secret weapon of sorts.

Ninamori suddenly opened the door, "_Anything_?" she emphasized.

Naota sighed with relief, "Yes, anything."

"There's a party at one of Masashi's friend's house tonight, I want you to go with me," Ninamori demanded, sticking her face in Naota's.

"Of course," Naota replied, raising his hands to defend himself.

Ninamori smiled, suddenly noticing the band-aids over Naota's forehead, "What happened here?" she asked speciously.

"Umm..." Naota thought for a moment, maybe it wasn't best for him to mention the robot that had popped out of his head the day before, "I tripped yesterday, on my way to the theater."

"And that's why you didn't show up?" she assumed.

Naota bit his lip, "Ye-yeah..."

"In that case... I forgive you," the violet haired girl grinned.

"What time should I stop by?" Naota asked, being quick to change the subject.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ninamori asserted, "This time you spend the day with me!"

Naota obliged.

* * *

Back within the deep darkness of Medical Mechanica, the three monoliths stood once more.

"The boy has gained the will to fight..." 01 confirmed.

"That shouldn't be _to_ much of a predicament..." 03 deduced.

"Yes, but if he learns to tap into the power within him, we would have a problem..." 02 thought.

"They've already destroyed one of our most powerful machines..." 03 pointed out.

"Another is on the way now..." 01 proclaimed.

"And if it fails?" 02 asked.

"Then we will consider Plan B..." 01 finished, ending their conference on an ominous note.

* * *

Mamimi sat along the bank of the river, letting her feet dangle in the water. Sitting in the same spot beside the bridge as she did three years ago, she prepared her camera for a shot of the water front.

Flash.

'_Naota-san sure has changed,' _Mamimi thought to herself, _'he's grown up a lot since I last saw him. I guess three years will do that to you. He's acting more boyish too. I guess he doesn't think I noticed him eying my legs at the Café Bleu, but I guess I'm no better than I used to be. Maybe I shouldn't have straddled him like that earlier. He's probably all ready made up his mind about me. I need to show him I'm not the same as before. Uh... Why do I even care what he thinks of me? Sure he's my friend, but so what if he thinks I'm too... sexual. I never thought about what he thought about me before...'_

The red head's face suddenly turned red as her hair, "Wow... maybe I've matured too..."

* * *

Naota and Ninamori arrived at the party. It was your average teenage party: parents out of the house, blaring music, and "punch". Naota wasn't sure, but the song in the background sounded like D.A.R.E. by the Gorillaz. Ninamori pulled Naota into the family room, where the stereo was blasting and where most the people were dancing. The air was thick with the smell of alcohol, sweat, and sex.

The violet haired girl started to wave herself back and forth in front of Naota, "Come on. Aren't you gonna dance?"

"Umm... I don't dance..." he half-chuckled.

"Oh, come on, Naota. It's easy. Just do what comes naturally to you," Ninamori urged.

Naota relaxed, the sound of the music filling his thoughts. He slowly started to pick up the beat. Thing about dancing, once you start, it's hard to stop. Besides, have you ever really "danced" at a party or like homecoming? You can get by perfectly just by jumping up and down or moving back and forth.

Ninamori giggled, "See? Now you've got it."

* * *

"She isn't the brightest alien is she?" Amarao asked his lieutenant, sitting at the driver's seat in his van, that was parked just across the street from the Nandaba household. The mid-day sun hung over their heads.

"Or maybe... quite smart..." Kitsurubami remarked, rising an eyebrow.

"How's that?" the red haired commander asked.

"Well, think about it." Kitsurubami started, "She has the kid and the Medical Mechanica robot to protect her. Which I found out, the hard way, is bullet proof. And unless we can get a hold of some more complex weaponry, an attack on that household would be suicide."

Amarao looked back at the house, "Hmm... We'll just have to make a few calls then..." Amarao smirked.

* * *

Naota and Ninamori sat down at the couch exhausted. They had been dancing for about two hours and it was starting to get to them. A young blonde haired girl suddenly walked up to Ninamori and whispered something in her ear. Ninamori smiled questionably.

The girl turned to Naota, placing her hands over his, "Come on!"

* * *

Ding dong, the Nandaba house door bell rang. Haruko, Mamimi, and Canti sat at the couch in the living room watching anime reruns.

Haruko scratched her head as she sat on the couch watching, "I don't get it... What exactly are they?"

"They're Sailor Scouts," Mamimi answered while she read a magazine.

"What exactly is a 'Sailor Scout'?" the alien asked.

"I dunno, they're like Power Rangers with miniskirts."

Haruko scoffed, "This is dumb."

Door bell rang again.

"Sameji, answer the door. Will ya'?" Haruko asked (though it sounded more like a demand).

Mamimi sighed getting up and putting down her magazine, "Sure..."

Mamimi walked towards the door with the person on the other side still impatiently ringing the door bell.

"Hold your horses!" Mamimi yelled through her yawn as she stretched.

She opened the door, finding the barrel of a handgun pushed against her forehead.

Mamimi sighed, "Haru-san, it's for you."

The man behind the gun started to pull the trigger. A yellow shotgun blast suddenly hit him in the face. Mamimi turned around, finding Haruko at the end of the hall, her Gibson EB-0's tip smoking.

"Down!" she screamed.

Mamimi obeyed, dropping to the floor. Haruko shot again, hitting another man in black who was attempting to break in.

"Canti!" the salmon haired women called.

Canti came to Mamimi's side, grabbing her and taking her to safety. Haruko quickly found herself surrounded on both sides by men coming from the kitchen and living room. Each holding complex guns that were obviously not of this world. Amarao walked into the front door holding a large, lance-like cannon on his shoulder.

"Well, well, we meet again, Raharu," he said cooly putting his sunglasses on.

Haruko chuckled, "You again?! Wasn't your little department circumcised or something?"

"That's _circumscribed_!" Amarao blasted, losing his cool for a moment.

"Meh, potato patoto," Haruko shrugged beginning to manicure her nails.

The redheaded commander's eye twitched behind his shades, "Just as arrogant as ever, I can see..." he exclaimed with exasperation.

"Aren't a just a blast?" Haruko grinned winking.

The commander reached for a lever on his gun and gave it a pull, his shoulder mounted cannon giving off a few mechanical sounds as it locked and loaded.

Amarao smirked, "Ha-ha, Yeah. That's exactly how I'd describe it."

The men around her loaded her guns. The alien girl placed her index finger and thumb to her lips, whistling. Her Flying V flew to her hand as well (knocking out one of the gunmen on the way in).

A vain began to throb on the commander's forehead, "Fire! Fire! Fire!"

* * *

Naota and Ninamori sat down on the red floor carpeting in the back room of the house. Among them were a few other boys and girls all sitting around one another in a circle.

Naota leaned over to Ninamori, "Umm... What are we doing here?"

She smirked averting her glance towards the closed closet door, which suddenly opened. A brown haired boy stumbled out of the closet, followed by a grinning redheaded girl.

Naota noticed the purple marks on the side of the boy's neck, "Ohhh, boy..."

* * *

Haruko ducked under a shot from a man in black, compensating with a shotgun blast to the stomach of the gunman. The battle against the salmon haired alien vs. the suits had moved its way to the kitchen. The battle itself was fairly one-sided. Back and forth, room to room, gunshots flew, suits crashed through walls, and screams of agony filled the small household.

Haruko turned to Amarao, "You just don't get it, do ya'? It doesn't matter what guns or technology you have. You're never gonna best me!"

A bead of sweat ran down the commander's face, "I'm not out of men yet!"

"Only you would keep so many _guys_ around!" Haruko smirked.

Amarao became outraged, "Why you little- Attack!"

More of Amarao's suits came bursting through the right wall of kitchen and from the window to her left as well. Haruko gripped her guitars, spinning in a full 360 degrees, bashing all of her attackers with a single sweep of her guitars.

The men fell lifelessly atop one another around the green eyed women. Haruko flipped her Flying V onto her back, aiming her EB-0 at the astounded commander.

"Oh, shit," Amarao choked.

* * *

Ninamori tightened her grip on Naota's hand, 'Seven Minutes of Heaven, Naota'," she said staring into his blue eyes with her eyes of lavender.

Naota could only gulp, his cheeks reddening.

Ninamori moved closer, "For seven minutes, I have you. With the freedom to do whatever I want with you."

Naota was ready to open in his mouth in protest, but the redheaded girl interrupted.

"Your turn, Ninamori.," she stated, "you and your boyfriend."

Naota opened his mouth, but Ninamori's hand quickly covered it.

"You said you'd do anything for me, right? Do this and we're even…" the violet haired girl whispered in his ear.

Naota frowned, "That doesn't sound very… responsible…"

"Oh, please, Naota." Ninamori sighed, "Since when did you care about responsibility?"

"Umm…"

"Are you not man enough to kiss a girl, Naota?" Eri asked nonchalantly.

He scowled.

"Fine! Let's do it then!" Naota asserted, pulling Ninamori to her feet.

* * *

Similar to their first gunfight, Haruko and Amarao found themselves staring the other down at opposing sides of an alleyway behind the Nandaba household.

Amarao rubbed his aching cheek, "Damn…"

"Yeah, guitars to the head usually hurt!" Haruko taunted.

Amarao loaded his cannon, "That's it! I've had enough out of your mouth!"

Amarao pulled the trigger, yellow particles gathering around the tip of the cannon.

Haruko cocked eyebrow, "A particle cannon, huh?"

The cannon fired a hefty yellow orb towards the alien women. Time seemed to slow as Haruko ducked under the blast, the orb exploding behind her. Amarao fired another blast, only to have it dodged as well. Amarao continued to fire a volley of particle blasts, only to have them dodged over and over by his potential target.

"Stay still!" Amarao screamed.

"Where's the fun in that!?" Haruko laughed, proceeding to dodge everything the commander threw at her.

Amarao gritted his teeth, "Go to he-"

Haruko suddenly appeared at his side, a devilish grin formed on her face and her two guitars fused into one, "Ladies first!"

Haruko slammed her guitar into the side of Amarao's head, sending him flying into the dumpster to his left, the lid promptly closing on top of him.

Canti walked out of the kitchen, dropping a pile of men in the dumpster as well.

"When will you learn?" Haruko smirked.

* * *

"Have fun you two, and keep it clean!" the red haired girl joked, closing the door to the closet.

Naota and Eri now found themselves sitting across from one another with nothing but the dim light seeping through the crack under the door to illuminate their surroundings. The closet was small, cramped, and full of winter coats and old shoe boxes. The only reason they were able to sit comfortably was because there was just enough space cleared for two people to sit across from one another and relatively close too. Naota sat with his heart racing and his hands clenched into tight fists of sweat.

Naota thought to himself, _'What the hell is wrong with me? It's not like I've never kissed a girl before... But, then again, this is _Eri_...'_

"Close your eyes, Naota," the violet haired girl spoke softly into the boy's ear.

Naota obeyed shutting his eyes tightly. He could feel Ninamori's soft hands over his cheeks. Thoughts began to flow through his mind like a whirlwind. Most of them concluding... this is freakin' Eri! However, Naota's thoughts were interrupted as the young girl leaned in for the kill.

* * *

Haruko gave a sarcastic salute to the dump truck as it drove down the alley. Haruko's eye caught the sight of her shackle, its single link rattling violently.

Haruko's eyes widened, "Uh-oh…"

* * *

The Medical Mechanica plant's siren echoed through Mabase.

The force in Naota's head banged around in his cranium, jerking him back and away from Ninamori's lips. He clutched his head in pain as it continued to attempt an escape from the boy's skull. Naota screamed, the pain in his head becoming too much to bear.

"Naota, what's wrong!?" Ninamori asked worriedly.

"It's coming!" Naota struggled to reply, placing both his hands over his forehead.

"What?" she blinked with a confused look.

Naota stood up, opening the door and falling to his knees in the middle of the room. The band-aids fell away. The people in the room gasped, looking upon his horn, which had almost completely unrolled and was still doing so. Ninamori stood behind him, with mixed emotions of fear, confusion, and disgust. The horn completely unraveled, instantaneously transforming into a long, flat, tan hose and bursting through the walls of the house and into the street. Naota struggled to keep his balance, as another hose identical to the first came from his head as well. The hoses wrapped themselves around a streetlamp across the road, pulling the rest of its body out from the boy's skull. The force of the machine living his head pulled Naota from his feet.

"Naota!" the violent haired girl screamed.

Ninamori threw her arms around his waist, as if to pull him back to the floor, but even so, both Naota and Eri were thrown out onto the curb. The two now gazed upon the former resident of Naota's head.

Its torso was large and, somewhat, V-shaped. Its waist was a hefty, metal orb. From which, four, two sectioned, spider-like legs came. Each with a mid-sized orb at the bottom, used for mobility. It had no head, but a slight hump on the top of its body, with a red "eye." It didn't have what one would call arms, instead, the long, flat, tan hoses that were rolled up now, in the same way Naota's horn was. Behind each hose, a large red balloon, obviously to fill the hoses with air and unravel them. Those were it weapons, the hoses. They were almost identical to those party favors you'd blow into at parties.

Naota's eyebrows narrowed, "Party Favor…"

The balloon behind Party Favor's right hose began to shrink. Naota pushed Ninamori, sending them both opposite direction. In a mere blink of an eye, the robot's hose unfolded, slapping the ground with amazing force in the exact spot that the two stood moments before. Ninamori sat on the ground, too paralyzed with fear to move. Party Favor's glowing eye locked on the defenseless girl.

"Eri!" Naota screamed, throwing himself at Ninamori.

The hose unraveled, hitting the back of Naota's head with tremendous force, sending him flying into the brick wall of a nearby building.

A tear fell down the young girl's cheek, "Naota!"

The scream attracted the machine's attention. Party Favor turned, fixing its eye on Eri. The robot gyrated its right side in such a way to swing its unrolled hose under its shoulder and over. Its hose ready to come down on the defenseless Ninamori. Eri shut her eyes, death breathing down her neck. Party Favor's hose came down. The strum of a guitar rang in her ears. Ninamori reopened her eyes, awestruck by what she saw before her. Naota stood, his Rickenbacker materializing into his hands, holding back the machines hose.

Eri found herself overcome with emotions, the tears pouring from her sparkling, violet eyes now, "Naota… you saved me..."

The symbol appeared on Naota's temple once more. Even with the immense strength of the MM robot, Naota was holding it back with relative ease. Party Favor brought his second hose down on Naota's guitar but he easily blocked it too. Naota forced the hoses back into the air with a single swing. The boy turned to Eri with the symbol shining brightly on his head.

"You okay?" he asked simply.

Ninamori's cheeks turned deep red, "Naota…"

Naota flipped his Rickenbacker onto his back, picking up Eri in his arms. Party Favor regained his balance, re-inflating his balloons and rolling his hoses back up, before immediately inflating his right hose again. Naota jumped back, dodging the blow. The machine was quick to attack again and inflated his left hose. Once more, Naota dodged, gracefully flipping to the side. Party Favor fired his right again, starting to roll its way down the street, in hopes of hitting the swift guitarist. Naota dodged, Party Favor fired, Naota dodged. This continued until the two opposing forces came to the end of the street. Naota dodged once more, this time flipping onto the windowsill of the building behind him. Party Favor fired both of his whip-like hoses, Naota leaped onto the roof, placing Ninamori on her feet. Party Favor was quick to swing his hoses at Naota, whose back was turned. The hoses wrapped around him and pulled him from atop the building, flinging him back down the street.

"Naota!" Eri screamed.

Naota landed on the pavement, bouncing off the ground again and again before finally coming to a stop at the other end of the street.

Naota stammered to his feet, rubbing his aching head, "Ugh, as if hitting the pavement once doesn't hurt enough..."

Party Favor gave his opponent no time to recover, immediately rolling down the street on its spider-like limbs. Naota held his open palm straight in front of him, his eyes glowing red. A small red orb appeared in his hand, gradually growing larger in size. This didn't phase the charging MM robot, however. Naota grabbed his Rickenbacker with the orb, now around three feet in diameter, floating freely before of him. Naota pulled his guitar from his back, slamming the orb, sending it zooming down the street at a blinding speed. Party Favor extended its hose. The two made contact, the orb tearing through the flat hose as if it was paper, before passing the through the shoulder of the robot, leaving a clean, circle-shaped hole in its wake. The MM robot stopped in its tracks, falling completely silent. Naota ran at the silent machine with his Rickenbacker, held reverse handedly, at the ready. The guitarist leapt into the air high above him, throwing his guitar down at the robot. Naota landed on the roof in front of Eri, holding his hand to the sky. His Rickenbacker landed in his palm. The symbol disappeared from his forehead. The hellbent MM bot burst into a ball of fire and collapsed into the street.

Naota opened his eyes, the redness fading back to his natural blue, Eri threw her arms around him, her tears flowing freely, "Ohhh, Naota!"

Naota's face turned hot, "What?"

Eri stared into his eyes, before burying her blushing face in the boy's chest, "Oh… nothing…"

The machine's remains exploded, sending a shock wave that almost knocked the two off their feet. Ninamori almost lost her footing, but Naota quickly helped her steady herself. As she smiled at him, her blush still visible over her cheeks, Naota could only manage to smile awkwardly back.

* * *

Haruko sat down the street on her Vespa, looking up at the two hugging teens as the smoke cleared.

She sighed, "I guess I missed the party..."

* * *

**Ride on Shooting Star**

Orange no slide utusu sora

Sponge no pride burasagete

Spider

Iki touta sono yakan wa

kakusanaku tatte ii'n da

Iro no tsuita yume mitai na

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

Grunge no hamster otona bite

Revenge no logster hiki tsurete

Sniper

fuchi dotta sono sekai ni

nani ga mier'ute iiunda nerau mae ni

sawaritai na

Ride on shooting star

kimi wo sagashite kindan shojoujju

uso wo tsuita

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

* * *

**Episode Trivia:**

1.) Naota's new horn represents how easily teenaged boys become aroused.

2.) "It's almost like those things you blow at parties." This is a double entendre.

3.) Haruko and Mamimi's short conversation about "Sailor Scouts" stems from them watching Sailor Moon on TV. Haruko's confusion (and opinion) of the anime stems from my own. (Mamimi's comment about "Power Rangers in miniskirts is my own comparison as well.)

4.) Haruko mistakes Interstellar Immigration being "circumscribed" for being "circumcised". This shows like, how in the original Fooly Cooly, Haruko often mishears words and mistakes them for another. (i.e. "Death" for "Desk" and "Cooly Cooly" for "Cool-Aid")

5.) D.A.R.E. By The Gorillaz plays in the background of the party. The song seems to fit in well with the attitude of the fore-coming events. Also, the song is often thought to contain sexual references, which fit in well with the episode's theme.

6.) "Ninamori smirked, averting her gaze towards the closed closet door, which suddenly opened. A brown haired boy stumbled out of the closet, followed by a grinning long red haired German girl." This is a reference to the Shinji/Asuka pairing of Neon Genesis Evangelion, which I am a fan of. (His relationship with Rei is more platonic, like Aerosmith.)

7.) At certain points, Naota seems to act somewhat like Shinji does during NGE. I found the characters to be physically similar. (Though I found Shinji to be more of a pansy, while Naota was more of the type to lash out violently.)

8.) Ninamori's abnormal attitude during the party and willingness to part take in "Seven Minutes of Heaven" are due to her having a little too much of the punch. (Which, indeed, was spiked. That's right: she's sexual drunk.)

9.) The destruction of Party Favor is very similar to the destruction of Fire Starter. Ironically, both are in episode two of their respective series and an orb pierces on of their extremities and leaves a large, gaping hole in its wake and then they explode after impact by guitar. This wasn't intentional, just a coincidence.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Okay, Chapter 2 done. Well, maybe not completely. I might add something later, but I'm content with it at the moment. Not much to say here except, next stop: Chapter 3.


	3. Iblis Trigger

**Iblis Trigger**

_'Women. They're even harder to understand than these horns. One second, she's crying in my arms. The next, she's not even talking to me.'_

"That's not the point, Naota! You lied to me! You lied about the horn, what happened the other day, and that those girls were back! Don't call me again!"

_'Yeah... she's pretty pissed off. I guess, I'll just have to give her time to cool off. Then, go back to her and pour my soul out to her. Until then, I'll have to survive Haruko and Mamimi, and whatever else pops out of my head. Speaking of which...'_

"Oww!" Naota grunted, looking at the drop of blood spouting from his finger.

Naota ran up to the mirror, confirming his fears. A new set of horns had taken their posts on Naota's noggin. These new horns were literally "horns." From the sides of his head, two, small, devil-like horns stuck out. Naota placed his hands over them to push them back in, only to receive a pair of cut palms.

Naota groaned looking at his palms, "Great..."

* * *

Naota stood behind Haruko, who was, once more, fooling with her Vespa out in front of the garage. She was wearing her work clothes, which were basically her normal shirt and red overalls. She was on her knees by its side, messing with the transmission. That is, if it even had a transmission.

"Hey, Haruko!" Naota called to the alien woman.

The salmon haired alien turned away from her scooter, "What?"

"Where's Mamimi and Canti?" Naota asked sticking his hands in his pocket.

Haruko stared at him for a moment, before turning back to her Vespa, "They went out for the day. Apparently, she dragged Canti to the mall to go on a shopping spree."

Naota sighed, "Ohhh..."

"I can see you're wearing your _ugly_ hat again..." Haruko snickered, turning to him with a devilish grin.

Naota reached up, pulling his tan bucket hat down, as if to hold it on, "So?"

"Well, Gilligan, that could only mean..." Haruko stood up and grinned, "you're hiding something..."

Naota gulped doing his best not to look suspicious, "No... nothing..."

Haruko watched as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. Her eyes gleamed. Naota tried to run, but in a instant Haruko had him in a choke hold and her hand on his hat. Naota pulled his hat down as hard as he could, but it was no use. His hat fell to the ground.

Haruko ran her fingers up and down Naota's smooth, metal horns, "Devil horns? Have we been a good boy lately, Ta-kun? Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bad to the _bone_?"

Naota sighed.

She chuckled as she fondled his devilish horns, "Haha, get it? Bone as in-"

"I get it," the boy replied bluntly, a blush starting to spread over his face.

"So, what are you doing today?" Haruko quizzed.

"I don't know, stuff," he answered, not really thinking about it.

"Oh?" the alien thought aloud, "Well, in that case, why don't you hang out with me today? We can spend some personal time together."

Naota laughed out-loud, "What makes you think I'd want _personal _time with you?"

She grinned devilishly, "I dunno, that bulge in your pants?"

The boy's eyes shot open as he covered his genitals, "WHAT?!"

* * *

Within the darkness of Medical Mechanica, the three monoliths stood once more in conference.

"The second robot has failed..." 03 announced.

"That doesn't matter, Plan B has been set in motion..." 01 proclaimed.

"And?" 02 asked.

"He will arrive any day now..." 01 finished.

"And until then?" 03 asked.

"Prototype Iblis Trigger has been called into play..." 01 affirmed.

* * *

Amarao stood in front of the large screen back at HQ, which showed Haruko and Naota in front of their garage.

"Damn," the commander huffed, "No matter what you throw at her, she's completely invincible."

"Even those weapons from MM didn't help." Kitsurubami added.

Amarao scoffed, "Neither of Medical Mechanica's machines have been able to stop them either."

"That Naota kid even took down that last one by himself." Kitsurubami confirmed looking over the damage reports from the last robot's attack.

"That's not the half of it," Amarao sighed.

"Hmm?" Kitsurubami looked up from her computer.

"Medical Mechanica has called in backup..." the commander turned to the screen.

A diagram appeared on the screen, showing Earth and a small object zooming towards it at an extremely high velocity.

The lieutenant gulped, "Ba-backup?"

"He'll arrive in about two days and when he does..." Amarao paused.

Kitsurubami spoke up, sheepishly asking her question, "What will happen...?"

The commander eyes the monitor seriously.

"...I don't know."

The lieutenant almost slammed her face into her keyboard, _'Giant eyebrow-ed moron!'_

_

* * *

  
_

"Where are we going?!" Naota asked, sitting behind Haruko as her Vespa zoomed down the street.

"There's this place I know," Haruko started, "we can see your know how and how well you can handle your guitar."

Naota cocked his eyebrow quizzingly.

Haruko just looked at him out of the corner of her eye with a smirk.

* * *

Mamimi stepped out of the dressing room stall wearing a red, satin, mini-skirt with a loose, black, studded belt. Canti sat on the chair before her with a question mark flashing across his face.

"You think it looks good, Canti?" she asked turning her hips to get a look at the back of her skirt.

A series of kanji flashed across his screen.

"Hmm? Oh, no reason. I just want to try another look is all," Mamimi replied, running her hands down her hips as she looked in the mirror to her side.

Canti tilted his head, almost like a dog does when you say something stupid.

"You don't believe me?" the redhead huffed puffing up her cheeks.

Canti rose his hands in defense.

Mamimi turned back to the mirror, "Anyway... do you think Naota-san would like it?"

* * *

Naota and Haruko stepped into the darkened club. Its walls covered in antique guitars and rare models. The whole club was lit with red and blue lights. The air was thick with cigarettes and alcohol. Haruko came to a stop before a wall of guitars.

"What is this?" she asked pointing to the guitar before her.

Naota stared at it for a moment, "A Martin EB18 Bass."

"This?"

"A Gibson EB-3."

"This one?"

"Gibson Les Paul."

"This?"

"Fender Stratocaster."

"And this?"

"Fender Jazzmaster."

Haruko turned to Naota with a smile on her face, "Not bad... not bad at all... but..." Haruko pulled her Flying V and EB-0 off her back and held them to Naota, "what are these?"

"Your Gibson EB-0 and... your Flying V..." Naota answered sadly, turning away from her.

"Wrong," Haruko replied.

Naota turned back to her. Haruko shoved the Gibsons into Naota's arms.

Naota stood, bewildered, "Wha?"

"These are _your_ guitars," she smiled.

Naota looked down at the guitars in his hands, "But... I don't understand."

"A guitar only works as good with the one it came from. Your Flying V's true strength can only be unlocked by you," Haruko explained.

Naota held his Flying V in his hand, a strange wave of energy drifting through his body.

Naota looked up at Haruko, only to find her eyes right in front of his and her lips dangerously close to his as well.

Haruko reached her arm behind the boy, pulling her Rickenbacker from his back, "I'll just take that then..."

Haruko held her guitar in her hands, "I had almost forgot how good it felt..."

Naota looked back at Atomsk's EB-0, "Why do I have-"

Haruko grabbed his wrist, "Now, let's see how you use it."

Haruko and Naota stood on the black, brightly lit stage at the back of the club. Haruko held her Rickenbacker while Naota held his Flying V.

Haruko strummed her guitar, "How well do you play?"

Naota held his Flying V, playing an amazingly familiar tune: Down, Down-up-down, down-up-down, up-up.

Haruko grinned, "Not bad, but beat this!"

Down-up-down, downdowndown-downdowndown, Down-up-down, downdowndown-downdowndown, Down-up-down, downdowndown-downdowndown, Down-up-doooowwwwn...

Naota smirked, "Okay!"

Down-up-downdowndown, Down, down-up-down-downdowndown, Down-up-down, downdowndown, down-up-down-down-doooowwwwn...

Naota turned to Haruko with a triumphant grin.

Haruko scoffed, "So you know how to play. You still have ways to go."

* * *

The blue MM monoliths stood in the darkness within the depths of Medical Mechanica.

"Prototype Iblis Trigger?" 03 thought.

"Yes," 01 responded, "the experimental machine has been activated. With the soul purpose of apprehending the boy."

"Do you believe that a prototype model my accomplish this?" 02 argued.

"At the current time, we lack alternatives," 01 answered.

"However, Prototype Iblis Trigger is still... faulty," 03 asked, suspiciously.

"Regardless, we will see how this scenario plays out..." 01 finished, his voice fading into darkness.

* * *

Haruko and Naota sat across from one another at a small table at the club. Naota's Flying V and EB-0 leaning against the table, along with Haruko's Rickenbacker.

"Medical Metallica?" Haruko laughed, "How original is that?!"

"Don't ask me, it was Eri's idea," Naota sighed.

"Oh, yeah," Haruko grinned, "_Eri_..."

"What?" Naota asked blushing.

"You and her are... Quite close, aren't you?" Haruko taunted resting her head of her hands.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: We're just friends."

"Sure," Haruko shrugged.

There was a short silence between them, leaving nothing but the other people's conversations and the blaring music in the background.

"H-Haruko?" Naota stuttered.

"Hmm?"

"There's something I've been wanting to ask you..." Naota said looking at the ground.

"What's that?"

He looked back at her, "Why did you come back?"

Haruko was caught by surprise.

"I just wanted to see you again, is all," she answered simply, crossing her arms behind her head, closing her eyes, and leaning back in her chair.

Naota angered, "I doubt that..."

Haruko opened one of her eyes, glaring at Naota.

Naota held his ground, glaring back.

Haruko leaned forward with a sigh, "I guess there's no fooling you. The truth is..."

Haruko paused, noticing the anger in his eyes.

"You still have something I want..."

"Atomsk left," Naota was quick to reply.

"Yeah? That's what I thought too, but, if he did, why would I be back?" Haruko argued.

Naota thought for a minute, "Where is he?"

Haruko leaned closer, "In you..."

Naota's eyes shot open, his expression slowly turning back to a grimace, "So that's it? You just came back for him, didn't you? And –like before– you're gonna use me to do it?"

Haruko placed hers hand over his, "You want to know why _really_ came back?"

Naota looked away.

"To protect you..."

Naota looked back at the salmon haired women, a strange dazzle in her eyes that he'd never noticed before, "Huh?"

"I knew that Medical Mechanica would try again to capture Atomsk, and I new that they'd use their machines to do it. I had to come back to protect you form them..." Haruko explained.

"Why?"

Haruko smiled, "Because, after all that we've been through, you've grown on me, Ta-kun."

Naota looked away again, "How do you know he's in me?"

"Because MM has been sending their robots to attack you, and," Haruko held up her wrist, showing Naota her shackle, "this told me so..."

"How does that work anyway?" Naota asked raising an eyebrow.

Haruko sighed, "Alas, that is a story for another day."

"Inside me..." Naota said to himself.

"That's how you were able to fight that first robot and the second all on your own, he's channeling his power through you."

Naota reached up to his forehead, the symbol glowing with dim red, "Though me?"

* * *

Mamimi and Canti walked down the sidewalk, Canti struggling to carry a mountain of clothes bags that Mamimi just _had_ to buy.

"So, Canti, where are we going?" Mamimi asked, coming alongside the former MM bot.

Canti turned his head, flashing a picture of a "2," then an "A," and a picture of a club.

"A club?" she asked.

Canti flashed a picture of a chibi Haruko and a chibi Naota.

"Oh, I see, Haru-san and Naota-san are there..."

* * *

Naota sat in silence.

"That's it? Just friends?" Naota groaned.

"Ya, Ta-kun, we're pals aren't we?" she said, resting her head on her hands again, this time crossing her legs under the table.

"_Wanna come along?_" Naota quoted.

The alien woman rose an eyebrow.

"That is one of the last things you said to me. What did you mean by that?" Naota asked, looking straight into Haruko's green eyes.

Haruko frowned, "So... you remember..."

"When a close friend says something to you and then leave for three years... you tend to remember the last things they said to you..." Naota stated solemnly and calmly.

"You were too young back then, Ta-kun," Haruko explained apologetically.

"And three years later, I guess I still am!" Naota yelled, standing up on slamming his hands down on the table.

Haruko was shocked by his assertiveness.

"I guess that's why you still call me: Ta-kun! I'm still too young! Too young to make my own decisions!"

"Ta-kun, I-" Haruko stuttered.

"And I guess I'm also too _young_ to defend myself! I need _you_ to protect me! Well, guess what, I'm fully capable of surviving without you! Who said I even wanted your help or even needed it! You think you can just ride back into my life on your damn Vespa, with your guitars, and pretend like those three years never happened! My life was doing just fine until you showed up and brought all your problems with you! Do me a favor: Stay out of my life!"

Naota sat down panting, his throat somewhat sore from yelling. The rest of the club had fallen into silence as they were distracted by his shouting.

Haruko glared up at him, her eyes burning with anger.

"Fine," Haruko replied standing up.

Haruko grabbed her Rickenbacker, "Have a nice life..."

Naota sat in silence as Haruko walked out the door. His mind recuperating after the tidal wave of emotions had receded.

* * *

Mamimi noticed a familiar, salmon-haired alien woman storming out of the club doors in front of her.

Mamimi smiled, picking up her pace, "Hey! Haru-san!"

Despite Mamimi's calls, Haruko placed her guitar on her Vespa (that was parked on the curb) and pulled on her goggles and helmet.

Mamimi called again, "Haru-san?"

The salmon haired women drove off down the road, without even sparing Mamimi a passing glance.

Mamimi stopped, Canti running to catch up, "That was odd..."

* * *

The monoliths stood within the darkness of Medical Mechanica.

"The time has come..." 02 started.

"She has left the boy open..." 03 continued.

"Now is the opportune moment to unleash Iblis Trigger..." 01 finished.

* * *

Naota doubled over in pain, his feeling like his brain was trying to crawl out of his skull. The machine inside pounding mercilessly at his prison. He stammered into the middle of the club, but not before knocking over his table and chair in the process.

Bang.

Naota clutched his head, struggling to stand.

Bang.

"No..." the boy groaned weakly, "I-I'm not letting you hurt anyone..."

Bang.

Naota fell to his knees as tear forced its way out of his eye, "Why can't you just go away..."

Bang.

"I don't want to fight..."

Bang.

The people in the club stopped, watching the struggling boy with concern.

Bang.

"I just want my old life back..."

Bang.

"Before she came back..."

Bang.

"Please, I don't want to fight anymore!"

Bang.

"...But, you don't care? Do you?"

Bang.

"You don't give a damn about my pain..."

Bang.

"All you want is him..."

Bang.

"And you're going to kill anything that gets in your way to get him..."

Bang.

"No..."

Bang.

"I'm not going to let you take him..."

Bang.

"I'm not going to die by your hands..."

Bang.

"I'm not going to run away..."

Bang.

"I'm going to fight..."

Bang.

"And he's going to help me..."

Bang.

"No matter what, I'm stuck with him..."

Bang.

"And if I am..."

Bang.

"Then I'm going to use him!"

* * *

Haruko flew down the back roads of Mabase, just as angry as she was when she left the club. Her shackle began to rattle.

She scoffed.

* * *

The machine burst through the top of Naota head, accompanied by screams of horror by the club members.

The machine was quite large. Its head was somewhat triangle shaped. In the center of its head, a red "eye" and at the bottom a small grill similar to Canti's. On the top of its head, the two devil-like horns. Its body was also similar, only about 2/3 larger. Along the upper parts of its human-like arms, the words: Iblis Trigger. Its hands were larger than Canti's, but identical. It seemed to stand on its toes. With feet similar to the way ninja's feet looked when in their costumes. Its legs bent like a dogs leg, walking on its toes rather than actual leg.. Its posture slightly hunched over. On its back, a large, black, three-tipped propeller. On the sides of its in longed feet, two holsters with two, black, long barreled hand guns. As for color, his torso was black with some grey and yellow details. His feet silver. His legs black. His hands black with some silver and yellow details. His head completely black. Naota's hat sat on its head, covering its right horn. It stood perched on Naota's head.

Naota grabbed his head, "Get off!"

He managed to throw the machine from his head, the robot landing on and crushing a table.

Naota looked upon the iron devil, "Iblis Trigger..."

Trigger jumped towards the boy. Naota quickly grabbed his Flying V holding it up to guard. The robot brought its fists together and slamming the guitar with all his might. Naota thrown onto the backdrop of the stage, causing the musical equipment to fall around him. Trigger pulled his hand guns from their holsters, aiming them at the downed guitarist. Naota shook off the impact, locking eyes with Trigger. Trigger fired. Naota jumped to his feet, batting away the first shot with ease and batting the second into Trigger's chest, sending the robot smashing through the entrance and into the building across the street.

Mamimi and Canti stopped in their tracks.

Mamimi sighed, "Again?"

Naota flew over the street, his Flying V raised and ready to come down on his foe. Naota swung. Trigger caught his guitar in mid-swing. Quickly retaliating with a powerful punch to Naota's gut which sent him flying through a window on the upper floor of the club.

Trigger stood up turning his attention towards Canti.

The former MM bot's screen blinked.

The propeller of Trigger's back span, sliding him over the pavement towards the Lord of Dark Flame. Canti dropped his bags in a haste, stopping Trigger's fist with his own. Trigger rose his other fist. Canti quickly pushed Mamimi out of harms way. However, he wasn't fast enough to block the second strike. Trigger landed a powerful blow to Canti's head, sending him skidding down the street.

"Canti!" Mamimi screamed.

Trigger activated his propeller once more, sending him flying down the street. Trigger caught up with the still bouncing Canti, grabbing his head and slamming it into the concrete. Canti gripped Trigger's arm in an attempt to pull his hand from his face and break free.

Naota jumped back onto the street, this time holding his Flying V and Gibson EB-0. Atomsk's symbol glowed proudly on his forehead.

"Naota!" Mamimi called.

"Mamimi, stay back," Naota ordered.

Mamimi blushed, somewhat impressed by his demanding tone, "Okay."

Trigger's sensors alerted him of Naota's presence. Trigger turned his head and locked on to the guitarist. Trigger reached back with his freehand and grabbed his propeller, pulling it from his back. Naota watched quizzingly. Trigger tossed the propeller at the boy, the three-tips spinning at an insanely fast rate.

Naota quickly realized what the propeller doubled as, "It's a shuriken!"

Naota brought up his guitars. The shuriken bounced off of Naota's EB-0, only to circle around and spin towards him again. Naota hit the shuriken a second time with his Flying V. This time, the force of batting the shuriken away throwing Naota into the air. The shuriken came around, Naota struck it again, throwing him higher into the air.

Trigger watched as Naota continued to bat away the hellbent shuriken. A sudden feeling over took Trigger. The robot turned, finding Canti cocking his fist back before him. A devilish grin appeared on Canti's screen. Trigger braced himself. Canti punched the MM robot square in the eye, sending his rolling down the street.

Naota was over 10 stories into the air now, the shuriken circling around again for another attempt. Naota slammed his guitars together, creating the double neck once more. Naota rose the guitar above him and slammed the shuriken with all his might. The propeller ricocheted off his guitar and span towards the rolling Trigger on the ground. The MM bot managed to draw his handguns and fire two blast just seconds before impact.

A beam of light zoomed into the night sky over Mabase. Haruko sat on her Vespa high in the hills outside of the town, staring at the explosion. Haruko turned away, starting her scooter again. Haruko looked at the road before her... but she couldn't help but double take with a frown.

Naota and Canti stood at opposite sides of the crater as smoke continued to rise from the impression. The young guitarist's eyes widened as he looked down upon the unharmed Trigger at the bottom of the hole.

"No... way..." Naota said in disbelief.

Trigger placed his shuriken on his back, glaring up at Naota with his single, menacing red eye. The MM bot grabbed his guns. Naota and Canti, however, were quick to act. Naota leapt into the crater, ready to swing his guitar, as did Canti. Even so, Trigger easily blocked Naota's attack from the front and Canti's from the rear with the barrel's of his guns. Trigger span around throwing back the two combatants. The robot aimed his guns, shooting them wildly at Naota, still in mid-air. Naota blocked the shots with his guitar while Canti promptly regained his footing and leapt towards Trigger attempting catch him by surprise. To Canti's dismay, Trigger picked up his presence on his scanners. The robot turned, Trigger's chest armor pulled apart, revealing a huge, chest mounted cannon. A giant sweat drop formed on the former MM bot's head.. Canti flew across the street and into a building.

Trigger turned back to Naota. Who, to his surprise, was right behind him. The guitarist landed an uppercut blow to the bottom of Trigger's head, throwing him from the crater. The boy followed up by delivering a blow to the robot's side, then another, and another, another, another, and another. Trigger finally retaliated, knocking away Naota's double neck guitar. Naota fell to the ground defenseless as Trigger's chest plates opened up.

"That's it," Naota sighed, Trigger's cannon about to fire, "I'm done for."

Just as Naota had thought it was over, a familiar figure came from behind Trigger. Haruko screamed triumphantly as her Rickenbacker collided his the back of Trigger's head, which sparked as a small explosion occurred within. Naota could only watch in amazement as time came to a stop at the Kodak moment: Haruko salmon hair shining in the streetlight, her eyes gleaming, and her dazzling swing.

"Whoa..."

_'As soon as I said that, I knew I'd regret it. Because I regretted saying the same thing three years ago. It was then, in that moment, that I realized what had made me fall for her in the first place: Her amazing swing, that reminded me of my brother's...'_

_

* * *

  
_

**Ride on Shooting Star**

Orange no slide utusu sora

Sponge no pride burasagete

Spider

Iki touta sono yakan wa

kakusanaku tatte ii'n da

Iro no tsuita yume mitai na

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

Grunge no hamster otona bite

Revenge no logster hiki tsurete

Sniper

fuchi dotta sono sekai ni

nani ga mier'ute iiunda nerau mae ni

sawaritai na

Ride on shooting star

kimi wo sagashite kindan shojoujju

uso wo tsuita

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

* * *

**Episode Trivia:**

1.) Naota's devil horns represent his suppressed anger that unleashes itself in this episode, as well as his teenage sexual desire.

2.) Naota wears his "ugly" hat in this episode. This is the same hat that appeared in episode 3 of the original series. Incidentally, this is also the third episode.

3.) This is the first mention of the Fender guitar brand in the series. Their appearance will become more prevalent throughout the series.

4.) The first riff Naota plays is the opening of Carnival by The Pillows. The second Haruko plays is the opening riff of Ride On Shooting Star by The Pillows. The third Naota plays is another part of Ride On Shooting Star, specifically the chorus.

5.) Iblis is another name for the Islamic Devil, fitting for the robot's devil-like horns. The name "Iblis Trigger" is a nod to the robot's original name, Trigger Finger, and also Sonic the Hedgehog's nickname in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).

6.) Naota's line "That's it, I'm done for" echo Asuka's words in Neon Genesis Evangelion, specifically after the tether attached to Unit 2 snaps as she's in the volcanic home of the 8th Angel, Sandalphon.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow... This chapter is just _way _too short... I'll likely add something later one I have a better idea what to add. I have a basic one now... but I'll get back to it. Okay, chapter 4, coming right up!


	4. Reservoir Dogs

**Reservoir Dogs**

Naota sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. His Day of Salvation: Saturday. Naota glanced at his alarm. 11:30? Unusually early for the weekend.

Naota sat at the table, Mamimi siting across from him.

"Morning, Naota-san," Mamimi grinned.

"Morning..." Naota yawned.

"Still tired?"

"A little... Why'd my alarm go off so early?" Naota asked, sipping from his orange juice.

"Don't know. Mine did too."

Suddenly, a large robot sat in the chair between Naota and Mamimi.

Iblis Trigger leaned back in his chair, placing his arms behind his triangular head.

Naota glared at the machine for a moment, "What's _he _doing here?"

"Well," the redhead began, "since Trigger wasn't completely destroyed, Canti was able to fix him up."

"Hmmp," Naota scoffed.

"Now, now, don't be like that. Trigger's on our side now," Mamimi said, placing her hand on the robots shoulder.

"Okay, everybody!" Haruko greeted, stepping into the kitchen, wearing a white T-shirt and cut-off denim shorts. She dropped a orange and green bag on the table.

Canti walked in behind her carrying a handful of beach towels.

"We're going swimming!" Haruko announced, as Canti shoved the towels into the bag.

"Huh?" Naota stared, raising an eyebrow.

"Swimming! At the local pool." the salmon haired women said, pulling the collar of her shirt to reveal the yellow strap of her bikini.

"But, I didn't pack any swimsuit..." Mamimi sighed.

"S'okay, I bought you a pair Friday," Haruko reached into the bag, pulling out a dark red bikini still on its hanger.

She tossed it to the redhead, "Thought you'd like red."

Mamimi held it up to herself, "Perfect!"

Naota stared at her for a moment, his face reddening at the thought of her in it.

Mamimi turned towards him.

"What do you think, Naota-san?" she asked.

"G-great..." Naota replied, averting his gaze.

Mamimi stood up, "I'd better change here,"she stopped behind Naota, "wouldn't want anyone peaking in the changing rooms. Would I?"

Naota's face turned deep red.

The young photographer giggled to her self as she walked off.

"Uh. I wonder if Eri would want to go," Naota thought out loud.

"I called her, but her maid said she had migraine," Haruko shrugged, sitting across from Naota.

"Ohh? Hey, wait! How did you know her number?" he asked, glaring at the alien.

Haruko held up a small, green cell phone, "First number on the Contacts List," she grinned.

Naota snatched it out of her hands, checking over the contents of the phone.

"You know," Haruko started, leaning back in her chair and resting her legs on the table, "when I first met you, you sure didn't seem like the type to carry a cell phone..."

"Yeah, well, things-" Naota suddenly found himself staring up Haruko's shorts, "c-change..."

Naota looked away.

Mamimi stood in front of the pool, sighing gleefully, "Such a great day for a swim!"

Naota sat down on a beach chair beside Canti, "Yeah, I guess."

Haruko zoomed pass Naota and Mamimi, in instant, pulling off her shorts and T-shirt and leaping into the pool. Splashing Mamimi in the process.

"Ohh! Haru-san!" the redhead shouted, angrily.

Haruko bursted out of the water, shaking the water out of her hair, "Well, you should have gotten in faster. Then your clothes wouldn't have got wet."

Mamimi glared competitively at the alien, "Alright then..."

Haruko turned, running her hands through her salmon colored hair. The redhead crashed down on Haruko dragging her under the water.

Naota blinked. Trigger titled his head. Canti sighed.

Mamimi surfaced, "There, now we're even."

Haruko rubbed the water out of her eyes, "Oh, yeah?"

The alien came up behind the redhead, pushing the young girls face into the water. Mamimi struggled, splashing while trying to get free of Haruko's grip.

"What was that, Sameji? You say something?" Haruko grinned.

Mamimi was quick to hook Haruko's foot with her own and cause the older women to fall back into the water. Mamimi jumped on top of her, pushing her head underwater.

Naota stood wide-eyed at the edge of the pool.

Haruko noticed Naota staring as she pushed Mamimi into the water, "What are you waiting for? Get in!"

"Uh, I think I'll get in later..." Naota thought, scratching the back of his head.

Mamimi stood up, "Why not now?"

"I just don't feel like getting in right now..."

"Oh, yeah? Trigger!" Haruko called.

Naota tilted his head.

Trigger came up behind the boy, shoving him in the water.

Naota surfaced, spitting the chlorine filled water out of his mouth. Haruko and Mamimi stood laughing in front of him.

Naota looked down at his T-shirt, "Look what you did. I have to wear this home you know."

Mamimi swam up to Naota, grabbing the bottom of his wet shirt, "It's okay, we'll just take this off and set it out to dry," Mamimi said, as she pulled his shirt off him.

Naota's face turned deep red, "H-hey, c-cut it out!"

Mamimi pulled off his shirt, throwing it to Canti.

The redhead ran her hands up the boy's chest, "Wow, Naota-san, your muscles are so big."

Naota blushed.

Mamimi ran her hands down his abdomen, Naota chuckled, "Cut it out! It tickles!"

Haruko came up behind him, putting him in and arm lock, "Oh, does it?"

Haruko held Naota as Mamimi continued to tickle him. He tried his best to get free, but with the ferocity of Mamimi's tickling and Haruko's arm lock, it was to no avail.

Suddenly a sound filled the public pool, the sound of a generator or... a pump. The three stopped. The water in the middle of the pool began to swirl. The lifeguards began to shout into their megaphones, as people struggled to climb out of the pool. The three quickly made their way to the side, where Canti and Trigger pulled them out. The water continued to swirl. Within seconds, the pool had transformed into a clockwise spinning whirlpool. The five could only watch.

The five gazed down into the huge hole in the middle of the pool. The entire pool completely drained of every drop of water.

Naota sighed, staring down the hole, "This cant be good..."

"Can you believe it?" Haruko asked, flipping on the TV as she sat down on the living room love seat. Naota and Mamimi taking their respective spot on the couch.

"The entire pool drained?" Haruko sighed, surfing through the channels.

"Well, there was a big hole in the bottom..." Naota smirked.

Haruko scoffed, "Shut up."

"Still," Mamimi began, "why would someone want to steal water? I mean there's plenty of water in the world."

Haruko's trigger finger on the remote came to a stop as the news anchor began to speak.

"_A crisis has swept the small town of Mabase, as water everywhere has been mysteriously stolen. Pools have been drained, pluming ran dry, and basically all forms of moister have disappeared. News at eleven"_

Naota cocked an eyebrow, "Why not now?"

"Your kidding! All the water in the entire town!?" Haruko shouted, throwing the remote onto the coffee table.

Mamimi stood up, pointing her finger proudly to the sky, "This is perfect!"

Naota and Haruko cocked an eyebrow.

Noticing the confusion on her housemate's faces, she explained, "You see, this is my perfect chance to blow the lid off a mystery in Mabase! I mean I may be known to the rest of the world... But I'm not going to quit until Samejima Mamimi is a household name!"

Naota tilted his head.

Mamimi pulled a Sherlock Holmes costume seemingly out of nowhere, "Come, my dear Watson!"

Mamimi grabbed Naota by his collar and dashed out the door.

Haruko just shrugged and picked up the remote, "Play nice, you two..."

As before, Amarao stood before the mighty, sky blue monoliths. The commander stood staring at the ground.

"We're disappointed in you, Amarao..." 01 chastised.

"We gave you anything you asked for-" 02 began.

"Yet you still couldn't accomplish our goal..." 03 finished.

"Forgive me..." Amarao pleaded.

"I see no reason why we would..." 01 argued.

"Now, one of our own creations is prancing around their household, fighting against us!" 03 said forcefully.

"And for such reasons... we've had to call in a new contender..." 02 stated.

Amarao's head rose, "Please! Tell me what that is!"

"You dare raise your voice to us?" 02 angered.

Amarao grimaced.

"It is best that you do not get in his way, Amarao... For if you interfere-" 01 started.

"We may not kill you... But he will..." 03 finished, as if grinning itself.

Amarao looked down.

"You are dismissed..." 01 proclaimed, as the surroundings turned to darkness.

Mamimi stood on the riverbed, now completely drained, with her magnifying glass to the ground. Still in her Holmes get-up. Naota stood atop the river's edge, staring down at her, his hands in his pocket.

"Just as I suspected..." Mamimi said to herself.

"What?" Naota asked.

Mamimi stood up, looking to the boy, "Even the river is dry."

"How's is that even possible?!" Naota shouted.

"It doesn't matter," Mamimi said, as she climbed of the river's edge, "it still happened. Didn't it?"

Naota helped Mamimi to her feet.

Mamimi stopped, looking around at her surroundings, as Naota turned to leave.

"Doesn't this place bring back memories?"

Naota stopped and turned, "Huh?"

"Our old times down here by the river..."

Naota turned back around, "That was only three years ago..."

"But it seems like along time ago now. Doesn't it?"

Naota turned back towards the girl, only to find her face inches from his and moving closer. Her arms wrapped around him, as she buried her face in his chest. Naota fell back to the ground, Mamimi collapsing on top of him. Curiously, she no longer had the Holmes costume on. Naota laid there wide-eyed. In that position they remained for a several minutes.

Naota attempted to reflect on the actions taking place, but he found himself unable to. All he could do was lie there and stare into the blue, mid-summer sky.

Finally, Mamimi lifted her head, staring down into Naota's blue eyes with her own eyes of brown. She smiled softly.

Naota was finally able to form a sentence and give it a voice, "What was that about?"

"I just wanted to see how it felt..." Mamimi answered simply.

Naota blinked.

"It's different now, though..." Mamimi sighed.

"How?"

Mamimi grinned, "You're a lot bigger now..."

Ninamori stood atop the bridge. Her mouth slightly open. Caught by surprise before she could say what she meant to, at the sight of Naota and Mamimi by the river's edge. A tear ran down her cheek. Ninamori turned, wiping the tear away and rubbing her sore forehead. Ninamori walked away without another word or even a glance.

Amarao stood before the huge screen within HQ. Kitsurubami sat at her post, the commander sitting upon her desk, much to her disdain.

Amarao sighed, "How much longer?"

"About one to two days until arrival." the lieutenant replied.

"This is just great... Within the last week, we've had three robot attacks, the media has been breathing down our necks, the whole town is faced with a water shortage, and now Medical Mechanica has its finger on the trigger. All it'll take is one more failure for them to shut us down," Amarao complained.

"What do you propose we do?" the lieutenant asked.

"We wait in the dugout and let the new player up to the bat." Amarao sighed, staring up at the object racing through outer space heading towards Mabase.

Naota turned to Mamimi, as the two walked down the sidewalk through town.

"We've been _everywhere_, Mamimi, where else would we look for- What the hell are we even looking for?!" the boy frowned.

"A clue..." Mamimi stated, closing her eyes and crossing her arms behind her back.

"Like what?"

"Anything..."

Naota sighed. A glimpse of a familiar figure, however, caught his eye. The sight of a young, violet haired girl walking a few feet in front of them.

"Eri?" Naota called.

The girl stopped, turning just enough to make eye contact for a split second. The mere second was enough for Naota to notice Ninamori's tear filled eyes.

"Eri!" Naota called.

Ninamori ignored his call and ran.

"Ninamori?!" Naota called running after her.

"Naota-san!" Mamimi called, following.

The chase continued for what had to be about forty-five minutes. Finally, leading up to the finishing line of the pursuit. Ironically, none other then the town reservoir. Ninamori, ignoring the "Keep Out" signs, easily slipped through the partially chained gate and down the concrete plateau around the facility.

Naota stopped for a moment before the gate, "The reservoir... It still has water? That can't be good..."

"Naota!" Mamimi called, coming to a stop behind the boy, stopping to catch her breath.

Naota watched as Ninamori continued on her path down the pavement.

"Come on," Naota ordered, as he slipped through the gate.

Mamimi sighed, following the young guitarist.

Naota finally came upon the sobbing, young women before a pool of water. Now on her knees crying mercilessly into her palms. Naota was quickly overcome by the urge to comfort her.

Naota knelt down beside her, placing him hands on her shoulders, "Eri... What's the matter?"

Ninamori showed no comprehension of the boy's words, as she continued to cry into her hands.

Naota thought for a moment.

_'What could Eri be crying over? I mean, this can't have anything to do with last night can it? An odd time for it to come up. Unless... Oh crap... She must of saw me and...'_

"Eri... I'm sorry... For that... Back at the bridge..." Naota apologized.

Mamimi, standing a few feet behind the two, frowned...

"I-It's... not that... Naota..." Eri sobbed.

"Huh?" Naota thought, "What is it then?"

"Naota... It's just..." Eri sniffed.

"What?"

Naota suddenly noticed something he hadn't before. Ninamori wasn't just crying, she was hiding something as well.

"Eri," Naota began, "let me see your forehead..."

The girl stopped her crying and, reluctantly, obeyed. Removing her hands.

Naota gasped.

What he thought were tears filling Eri's eyes, was actually a different liquid entirely. And what was more amazing was that the clear liquid was bleeding from under the diamond shaped band-aid in the middle of Ninamori's forehead.

Eri looked up at Naota, the liquid filling her eyes, "I'm sorry..."

In a mere instant, Naota was flung into the air by the emerging force. The boy landed on the concrete with an: "Oof." Naota stumbled to his feet, gazing in horror upon the object. The object was a long, hose-like object. With about a three foot radius. The hose made of a bluish rubber. The nozzle nothing but a metal attachment with a hole, with a few traces of yellow coloring. About fifteen feet on the hose stuck from Ninamori's head, the rest, however, remained locked within Eri's cranium.

Suddenly, a large bulge moved its way up the hose.

Naota scowled, "Oh crap!"

Naota leaped, a huge explosion of dirt, concrete, and, surprisingly, water occurring below him, missing him by a few milliseconds. Naota landed before the gaping hole. The blast was caused by a burst of water, powered by a huge amount of water pressure. Naota looked back towards the hose, now plunging itself into the pool before it. Naota cocked an eyebrow.

_'This is the thing that's been stealing water...'_

Naota snapped his finger, his Flyin' V appearing in his palm.

_'It's been using Eri as a vessel to go about without being seen!'_

Naota swung his guitar back, "This bastard's gonna pay."

Naota tossed his guitar, the instrument flying through the air at a amazing velocity. The weapon collied with the nozzle of the hose. The hose turned as to look in Naota's direction. Naota summoned his EB-0 in an instant, readying it as he leapt towards the tube.

"Mamimi hold onto Eri!" Naota ordered.

The young journalist had just gotten a hold around Eri's waist, as Naota's Gibson collided with the nozzle. The impact sent the whole body out of Ninamori's head and plummeting into the pool. The machine disappeared beneath the water.

Naota grabbed his V as it returned. He ran up to Eri and Mamimi.

"Are you to okay?"

Mamimi climbed off of Eri, who were both thrown to the ground from the force of the machine leaving Ninamori's head.

"Yeah..." Mamimi moaned.

"We're fine..." Eri sighed, rubbing her aching forehead.

Naota turned back towards the pool, as the machine rose out of it.

The robot had a blue/purple color scheme. Its body had a tear drop shape. Four hoses stretched from its rotating mid-section. On its fat lower body four, glass, elongated windows, each with markings indicating the current water level. (Which, at the time, was completely filled past the top line.) On its head, a sensor that moved back and forth within its thin "visor." Perched directly over its head, a large, metal, rotating plate. Its edges marked with black and yellow warning stripes. It had three, slightly curved upward, small legs. As water coursed through its pluming, it gave off an odd sound. A noise remarkably similar to the barking of a dog.

"Reservoir Dog..." Naota said to himself.

Reservoir rose its hoses, aiming them at the three. Valves turned, valves closed, and in an instant, four powerful blasts of water were racing towards them. Naota gripped his guitars, smacking the water pulses with all his might. His swing was enough to absorb most of the blow, but the sheer force sent Naota sliding across the pavement. Naota recovered and leapt to his feet. Reservoir reloaded his pumps, aiming them at the two defenseless girls before him.

Naota gasped.

Reservoir suddenly tumbled into the pool, its attacks firing off into the air. Naota's eyes widened. Trigger landed in front of Ninamori and Mamimi, his three-tipped shuriken returning to his hand.

Mamimi smiled, "Trigger!"

Iblis turned, giving the girls a thumbs up.

"Look out!" Eri shouted, as Reservoir emerged from the pool and rotated its mid-section. Swinging its hoses towards the robot.

Canti appeared in an instant, smashing his clasped fists into Reservoir's side. The mighty machine collapsing to the ground. Trigger and Canti leapt for another attack. However, this time Reservoir was quick to aim its hoses and fire upon the two machines. Sending the duo to the pavement.

Naota readied his guitars for a second assault, when a familiar sound filled his ears. He turned, finding Haruko's yellow Vespa zooming towards him with blinding speed. A huge dust cloud in its wake. Naota frowned, there was no escaping the inevitable. He sighed. Haruko's Vespa collied with the guitarist. Sending both him and his guitars into the air.

_'Old habits are hard to break, I guess...'_

Haruko jumped off her scooter, landing in front of the two girls. While her Vespa, amazingly, barrel-rolled over the pavement, only to come to a perfect stop, drop its kick stand, and park itself. Both Ninamori and Mamimi stopped to stare at her. Even Reservoir put a halt on its onslaught against Canti and Trigger to see the crazed alien. Naota recovered from the hit and run in time to get a good look at her.

"You've go to be kidding me..." he chuckled.

There she stood. Her hair died black. A pair of large, black sunglasses pushed towards the end of her nose, revealing her green eyes. A pair of black, tuxedo pants. A black, long sleeve tuxedo jacket as well, open to reveal a white under shirt with a long, black tie. Haruko pulled her Rickenbacker off her shoulders.

There was a few moments of silence. Even the huge, MM machine was caught off guard by the sudden turn of events. The barking of its piping still filling the air.

Haruko grinned, "Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy," Haruko pulled her guitar's pull cord, the instrument coming to life with a steady hum, "or are you gonna bite?"

Reservoir lunged towards the women, closing its four hoses around her. Each aimed directly at her. Haruko leapt into action, dodging all four blasts and delivering an uppercut to Reservoir's head. Sending the machine to the into the pool. Naota leapt into the air above the MM bot, tossing both his Flyin' V and EB-0 towards to downed machine. However, Reservoir had different plans. The machine aimed it hose towards Naota, only to find the water wouldn't come. The guitars collied. Sending the robot deeper into the pool's concrete bottom. Naota guitars returned to him. Naota slammed his guitars back together, combining into the Double-Neck. Naota flew in for a second strike. Reservoir reacted quickly, aiming his hose at the boy one more and rerouting all pipes into its single pump. The combined force sent the clog flying out.

Naota was sent to the ground with amazing force.

Naota sat up, "What the?"

Naota gazed upon the large rubber tire before him.

"Dammit..."

Reservoir sat back up, wildly swinging its hoses. Haruko dodged one swing, quickly sliding down a second hose before slamming her guitar into the machine's large rotating plate. Causing the plate to fly right off. A idea sparked in Canti's television shaped noggin. The robot leapt into the air, grabbing the plate as it span towards him, and, using its on momentum, sent it flying back at him. Reservoir was sent to the ground once more. Trigger jumped into the air pulling out his handguns from the holsters on the side of his legs. Haruko landed on Iblis' shoulder, aiming her guitar. The two fired a huge volley of energy enhanced gunshots. Each hitting their mark on the machine. Reservoir rose one final time. Its body horribly deformed by the onslaught of bullets and the combined might of Naota's and Haruko's guitar. This was going to be Reservoir Dog's last stand. The MM bot pounded its back to hoses into the pool. While it brought it front two up to fight. The four warriors stood beside each other.

"On three..." Naota whispered.

Haruko smiled, "Three."

The five scattered. Reservoir directed his hose, as his back hoses pumped the water form the pool, his front fired it. Creating a steady stream of water. Naota jumped into the air as one of the jets of water aimed towards him. Landing his double neck on the stream, Naota surfed up it, bashing the machine in the head on his way by. However, Reservoir was quick to aim its second hose and blow Naota away.

Canti slammed his palm into the ground, sending him flying into the sky. And with a mid-air flip, brought his open palm down on the robot. Smashing in the robot's eye. Reservoir was quick to react, smacking the MM bot away with its hoses.

Reservoir was quick to focus on the object dashing towards him. The robot fired its cannon-like hoses, Haruko easily dodging one, then another, and another, and another. Haruko dodged once more, this time going for the gold and jumping straight towards Reservoir's face.

Haruko grinned, in such a way one could question her sanity, "If you keep fighting like a bitch, I'll have to slap you like a bitch!"

Haruko's Rickenbacker collided, smashing into the side of the machine's head, and sending it flying off. Reservoir shook violently, as pipes, pumps, and pluming malfunctioned. Causing huge bursts of water to escape from various holes and crevices through its malformed body.

Haruko landed with a smirk, pushing up her sunglasses, "You turn, Mr. Brown."

Naota dashed towards the once functioning Reservoir Dog, his guitar ready to strike. With one good kick, Naota launched himself over the pavement with blinding speed. Trigger braced himself. The machine reached out his hand and threw the guitarist, giving Naota a boost as he flew past. The young musician pulled back on his instrument. Naota swung his guitar, the double neck colliding with the twisted remains of the machine with amazing force, and smoke filled the skies over Mabase.

**Ride on Shooting Star**

Orange no slide utusu sora

Sponge no pride burasagete

Spider

Iki touta sono yakan wa

kakusanaku tatte ii'n da

Iro no tsuita yume mitai na

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

Grunge no hamster otona bite

Revenge no logster hiki tsurete

Sniper

fuchi dotta sono sekai ni

nani ga mier'ute iiunda nerau mae ni

sawaritai na

Ride on shooting star

kimi wo sagashite kindan shojoujju

uso wo tsuita

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

**Episode Trivia:**

1.) The title an obvious nod to the movie: Reservoir Dogs. Directed by Quentin Tarantino. (One of my favorite directors!)

2.) In an extremely early draft of this story, Iblis Trigger (Then Trigger Finger) was a character who took he place of Canti. (Though the first draft had a completely different setting and characters.)

3.) There are several references to Sherlock Holmes. (Such as Mamimi wearing his trademark coat and referring to Naota as "Watson.")

4.) It is revealed that Ninamori's N.O. Channel is fully functional. (Which first appeared in episode three of the original series.)

5.) It is the first time thus far in this fanfiction that Naota has been hit by Haruko's Vespa. (Since the original FLCL)

6.) Haruko dresses up as Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs.

7.) Haruko quotes Mr. Blonde twice. The first being: "Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy, or are you going to bite?" The second, a slight corruption of the actual quote, being: "If you're gonna act like a bitch, I'm gonna slap you like a bitch."

8.) Haruko refers to Naota as "Mr. Brown" once. Referencing Mr. Brown of Reservoir Dogs.


	5. Intergalactic Bounty Hunter

**Intergalactic Bounty Hunter**

BOOM!

The sirens of the police cars rang throughout calm Mabase night, slowly converging on a single point in the center of the town. A crater, a huge crater in the middle of the street. At its center, a meteorite, dark, mahogany red in color. The police surrounded the hole, their gun's safty off and pointed towards the rock. A thin beam of light escaped from the comet, firing into the sky. Followed by another, then another, cracks appearing all around the space rock. The light exploded. Wiping out the cops and their cars with its amazingly powerful shockwave. A single cruiser exploded, setting the others ablaze. A figure stood amongst the chaos of the destruction.

A tall figure, about 6 feet at most. His only articles of clothing were a brown, trilby hat, a large, brown, trench coat, and a think, red scarf around his neck, covering his face from the nose down. His face was pale and white, his eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses, his nose was the only visible part of his face, as the rest was covered by mid-length, pale, blonde hair. His body was a point of interest. As his face was remotely human, there was nothing human about his body. His torso was a mackerel blue colored steel, while his legs were robotic, also blue, both similar to Canti's features. His arms were mechanical as well, but resembled the arms of Fire Starter, from the elbow down, on a much smaller scale, though still fairly large when compared to his body. It was unclear exactly how much of him was human, if any of him was _human_ at all.

The figure looked up from the impression in the ground, "So...this is where she has been the last five years..."

The figure turned, at his side sat a surprisingly bulky chopper of sorts, red in color with silver and black detail. Upon the chopper sat a guitar. A dark blue Fender Custom. He pulled the guitar from the bike, and placing it on his back, before mounting the motorcycle. The figure drove up the steep sides of the crater, flying over the flaming wreckage of the police cars. The alien entity rode off into the night.

_'It's as if things just get worse and worse. As if I don't have enough to worry about with the Medical Mechanica robots and that Amarao guy, I have to look out for Eri too. I don't get it. How can her N.O. channel work? Does it have something to do with that "balloon on stilts" incident from three years ago? Or does she actually meet the requirements for a N.O.? I guess it doesn't matter. I still have to deal with it...'_

"Breakfast!" Haruko called from the dinning room.

Naota lifted his head out of his pillow, the sleep still heavy in his eyes. Naota sat up, rubbing them.

The boy sighed, "Sleeping on the floor sucks..."

Naota walked into the dinning room, the table buzzing with activity. Canti and Trigger were walking in carrying trays of food, while Haruko sat scarfing it down almost as fast as they brought it in, and Mamimi and Ninamori sat side-by-side conversing. While Naota's father sat reading over the contents of the Mabase Post-Despatch. Naota sat at the end of the table, opposing Haruko.

Haruko stopped for a moment, looking up from her meal, "G'mornin', Naota!" She greeted with a wink, ramen hanging out of her mouth.

This alerted the other members of the household of the boy's presence.

Naota rolled his eyes.

_'In case your in the dark, I decided to sleep on the floor in the living room and give Eri my bed. It's the least I can do after all she's had to go through. Still, the floor isn't very comfortable... Maybe I should have took Mamimi up on her offer to share her bed?'_

Naota was pulled from his thoughts with the sudden interruption of Mamimi.

She leaned towards him, her arms crossed, her elbows on the table, and a strange twinkle in her eyes. Naota winced slightly, he couldn't stand her eyes, not because they were questionable or "dirty" in a sense, but because he couldn't bring himself to look away when they were upon him.

"So," the young journalist began, "Eri-chan tells me your in a band?"

Naota didn't answer, just stared back at her.

Mamimi titled her head.

"Yeah, we call ourselves: Medical Metallica."

_'What the hell? Where did that come from? I didn't even get the chance to think before it came out!'_

"Really? What, you a parody of a rock band, or something?" Mamimi asked, crossing he legs under the table.

Naota was a little offed by that question.

Mamimi blinked her crimson eyes.

"No, more of a fusion between classic rock and alternative rock."

_'Son of a bitch! I did it again! How does she do this to me?!'_

"Is that so? You playing any 'gigs'?" Mamimi questioned.

_'I wont say a word this time...'_

Mamimi smirked.

"We're supposed to play at the 'House of Wolves' tomorrow."

_'I don't know what to say, except I am ashamed of myself...'_

Mamimi giggled, "I'll be sure to make it."

Mamimi turned to Ninamori with a smile.

The young guitarist sighed.

Naota's father's sun glasses gleamed in an odd fashion as he looked to Naota from behind his paper, "I know just how you feel," he whispered, "your mother used to do it to me all the time. Why do you think we have a mini-van?"

Naota sighed again.

"So then," Commander Amarao began, standing before the huge screen of their base of operations, with the scene of the crater in front of him, "this is the supposed 'Plan B' that Medical Mechanica was talking about..."

Kitsurubami sat at her desk, unsure if the question was rhetorical or directed at someone. If it was for someone to answer, then it was probably her. No, it was _always_ her.

"I suppose so..." the lieutenant responded.

The commander scoffed, "This doesn't look good. It's bad enough that we have to clean up after their robots go 'Ka-boom'."

Three images flashed across the screen, as they were pulled from the archives. The first, a large hole in which rested the remains of Scalpel's Edge. The second, the huge scorch marks across the street from the destruction of Party Favor. And the final, the wreckage of the Reservoir Dog standing over the ruined Mabase reservoir.

"And then there's a new ally for the enemy..." Amarao sighed.

A photo of Iblis Trigger carrying boxes from the van to the store below Naota's house flashed across the screen.

"Do Medical Mechanica realize we have to clean up their messes?" the commander thought out loud.

"I guess not..." the blonde answered, with a sigh.

"You didn't have to answer, Kitsurubami. That was a rhetorical question..." the man replied.

Kitsurubami scowled.

"Anyway, whatever is good for Medical Mechanica, can't be good for us..." Amarao huffed.

"Is it true?!" Gaku asked, frantically, leaning towards Naota.

The four teens stood in Ninamori's garage once again for another session of band practice. The three boys stood in the hanger, while Eri walked off to fetch refreshments.

"Is what true?" Naota replied, closing the eye closest to Gaku, and looking away with the other.

"You know! About the-"

"Robots..." Masashi interrupted.

"Err..." Gaku was slightly disappointed by being cutoff.

"Maybe," the guitarist responded.

"'Maybe' wont cut it, this is a yes or no question," Masashi stated sternly.

Naota stood idle for a second in thought.

"Yeah..."

Gaku gasped, "Which parts!?"

"All of them," Naota answered, wiping his nose with his finger.

Masashi cocked an eyebrow, "Even the part about Ninamori staying at your household?"

Gaku shouted, Naota tensed.

The musician quickly grabbed his band mates, pulling them together, "Listen, you _can't_ let on you know to Eri. If she finds out that you found out she'll kill me. And I mean _kill_ me!"

"It's alright man, we got ya," Masashi assured.

"Yeah! Like you got Eri! Ohhhhh!" Gaku shouted.

Masashi punched the keyboarder in the side.

"Ugh," the boy coughed.

"What are you Stooges talking about?" Ninamori asked as she entered the room, throwing a can of New Coke to Naota, followed by a Vitamin In to both Masashi and Gaku.

"Err... Nothing, Eri," Naota replied.

"Take your seats, guys. Let's get started," Ninamori said, opening her own can of New Coke.

Masashi sighed as he sat before his drums, "Why is it that Naota gets all the good drinks?"

Gaku bit his lip, "That's not the only "good drink" he gets!"

Masashi punched him in the side again, "If your gonna make a joke, at least make it a _good_ one!"

Within the still darkness in the depths of Medical Mechanica, the three, sky blue monoliths stood. The light shining down on the alien life form before them.

"So you have arrived," 01 began.

"I received your call," the entity replied, "you said that she is here..."

"That is true," 03 assured.

"Where is she?" the alien asked.

"She lives in a small household in this town," 02 stated.

"That so..." the stranger thought, turning his head.

"However," 01 started.

The figure turned back.

"Engaging her will not be an easy task..." the monolith concluded.

The stranger tilted his head.

"As the family she resides with includes two of our most powerful machines," 02 explained.

Two images appeared before the stranger in a holographic screen. A tall, cyclops-like robot, Iblis Trigger, and a blue Medical Bot, Lord Canti.

"Defeating them will be a simple task," the stranger predicted.

"As well as a boy," 01 said.

This caught the alien's attention.

"A boy?" he asked.

"Yes, but no ordinary boy..." 03 added.

A screen appeared before the cyborg. A image of Naota, his guitars, and the mysterious symbol on his forehead.

The stranger smirked, "So I see..."

Naota sat in Ninamori's garage, playing a few different riffs on his Flying V. Medical Metallica was all but ready to play the gig tomorrow. They had forgotten the most important part of putting on a show: "What to play?!"

"So, we need a set list. Any suggestions?" Eri asked, notebook and pen in her hand.

Naota sat back, giving his guitar a pluck, "I'd play Killing in the Name..."

"Not a bad idea..." Masashi thought aloud, sitting behind his drums.

"Why cant we play some song that use a keyboard?" Gaku frowned.

"Because the keyboard sucks, Gaku," Naota said bluntly.

Eri turned to him, "We _told_ you to pick up the rhythm guitar, should of listened."

"Good thing Ninamori can play both bass and rhythm..." Masashi added.

Naota sat up, "Oh! We're playing Stop! by Jane's Addiction!"

"Agreed," Ninamori nodded, jotting it down.

Masashi spoke up, "We need some heavy metal in there."

"Who 'bout Madhouse?" Ninamori asked.

"Sounds like my place..." Naota grinned.

"Wanna play some JET?" Masashi asked.

"Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" Naota thought.

"Good one," Eri agreed.

"Just throwing some out there," Naota started, "Radium Eyes by Count Zero, Women by Wolfmother, Dead! by My Chemical Romance-"

Eri rose an eyebrow, "Dead!? You just want to play that to show off your mastery of the opening riff," Ninamori argued.

Naota smirked, "What? Don't you can keep up with the rhythm?"

Eri glared at him.

"We'll play it," the girl said, writing it down.

Naota smirked to himself, "Heh-heh..."

Masashi scratched his head, "Shouldn't we throw in some Japanese songs?"

Gaku smirked, pushing up his glasses, "Heh, how 'bout A Cruel Angel's Thesis...?"

"Yeaaaah... no..." Eri sighed.

"Hybrid Rainbow?" Naota thought aloud.

"Hmm, sure, why not?" the violet eyed girl cooed, writing it down.

"Well," Gaku yawned, "you just slap a few more songs on that. It's getting late. I'd best be heading home..."

Masashi stood up behind his drum set, "Yeah, it's going on 8 O'clock, and we have to get prepared for the show."

Ninamori nodded, "Alright then, you two get going. By the way, we meet here in the garage at five tomorrow, understood?"

The two teens shook their heads, walking out the garage door.

"See ya, guys," Masashi said cooly, walking out, his hands crossed behind his head.

"You two play nice!" Gaku joked, glasses gleaming.

Naota could of swore he saw Masashi punching Gaku in the face before the door closed.

Naota chuckled to himself.

Eri turned to Naota with a smile, "So, should we be heading home?"

"You mean should_ I_ be heading home and _you_ tagging along?" the guitarist said, sarcastically.

Eri stood up, walking up to him. Her eyes staring into his

"Naota," She said sweetly.

Eri suddenly grabbed him by the ear, pulling it and giving it a hard squeeze, "Why do you have to be sarcastic!?"

Naota gritted his teeth, "Eri! Stop! That hurts!"

The girl grinned, pinching harder, "Oh, does it?"

"You're sadistic!" Naota screamed, writhing from her tightening pinch.

The girl suddenly let go, turning towards the door. Naota grabbed his ear, now red from the stress.

"You gonna walk me home, Naota-san?" Eri asked, pushing the garage door opener.

Naota took his hand off his ear, still a little sore, "No, I'm gonna look over the instruments here first. Besides, Haruko is supposed to be picking me up. I'll be back later..."

Ninamori sighed, stepping out of the garage, "Alright, see you tonight..."

"Yeah," Naota muttered, turning to his guitar.

Eri's eye's shifted back towards the young guitarist, "Hmm..."

The girl stepped out, the garage door closing behind her. Naota turned, making sure she had left.

He sighed, "'Naota-san'? Mamimi must be rubbing off on her..."

The sound of the alien girl's Vespa echoed throughout the streets of Mabase, as it always did when she was speeding like a maniac. The time was going on ten now, and the streets were empty. No one but Haruko, and a certain other presence.

POW!

Haruko swerved, flipping her back in the process. The huge crater now blasted in the earth, directly in the women's beeline path, had thrown her and her scooter into the air. Haruko was caught off guard by this, causing her to land hard on the pavement and scuff up her cheek. Her bike; however, landed perfectly down the street a ways, even putting down its kick stand. Haruko stood up, pulling her Rickenbacker off her back in a flash, ready for anything.

The source of said attack; however, was not visible. Haruko's eyes shifted back and forth. But the sniper was quick to let himself be know.

The stranger called from his perch atop a nearby building, "Ahh! Rahara Rahura, we meet again."

Haruko looked up, gazing upon the figure of the cloaked guitarist, his red and black chopper beside him and the tip of his Fender Custom smoking in his grasp.

Haruko smirked, with a sense of disbelief and excitement, "Fender... Long time no see..."

Fender jumped down off his perch, landing a couple feet before Haruko, "_Too_ long, five years, Rahura."

Haruko smiled, resting her guitar across her shoulders, "Didn't ya' get the memo? I go by Haruko these days..."

The figure smiled behind his collar, "'Haruko' huh? I'll make a note of that, but the bounty is for 'Rahara Rahura.' So you will remain so in my book."

"Hmm," Haruko thought, "how'd you find me, exactly?"

"I got the heads up from Medical Mechanica, so I headed on over," Fender explained, crossing his arms.

"Oh, speaking of heads..." Fender frowned.

The man pulled open his coat, revealing his entire body, from the neck down, was completely mechanical. His head being the only "living" tissue upon his entire form.

Haruko winced at the sight, her disdain quickly melting to a smile, "Ahh, you still upset about that?"

"You decapitated me! You bitch!" Fender shouted, his coat closing, as he readied his guitar.

"Well, you shot at me, and I didn't want you to _do_ that again..." Haruko argued, completely unrelenting to Fender's contempt. To a point she was busier picking her nose, rather than preparing for the battle that was sure to come.

"Still quite the charmer, Rahura," Fender sneered.

"Eh," Haruko sighed, "boys on Earth dig it..."

Fender held his guitar in the shotgun position, "The only thing that will be 'dug' is your grave!"

Fender fired his guitar. The blast from his Custom was similar to the blast from Haruko's Rickenbacker, except its shot was red and much more powerful. Haruko snapped out of her daze just in time to smack the attack away with her guitar, causing the blast to rebound and smash into a nearby building. In turn, this caused a large cloud of debris to cover the street, obscuring Haruko's vision of Fender. The figure laughed as the dust hid him, his red eyes fading into the smoke.

Haruko scowled, "Shit..."

Another shot quickly flew in from Haruko's left; however, she was unable to block this attack in time. The blast collided, sending Haruko sliding across the pavement. The guitarist wasn't even able to recover before the bounty hunter charged at her. Jumping above her, he rose his guitar, bringing it down upon the alien girl in an instant. Haruko was barley able to block the first strike, but the follow up attack connected, smashing into her side and slamming her against the side of a building. A few drops of blood flew out of Haruko's mouth upon impact with the wall.

'_I haven't fought an opponent this fast in some time now,'_ Haruko thought to herself, _'This isn't going to be easy...'_

Haruko slid out of the impression she had made in the wall. Haruko stood hunched over from the blow, still grasping her guitar. She wiped the blood away from her mouth with her sleeve.

'_Heh, been a long time since someone's made me bleed,' _Haruko smirked.

Suddenly, Fender zoomed through the dust, his guitar at the ready. This time; however, Haruko wasn't about to let him attack her again. In a flash, Haruko unloaded a shotgun blast from her Rickenbacker directly into Fender's face. The blast sent the cyborg flying backwards through the air. This was an opportunity Haruko wasn't about to pass up. The salmon haired women leapt towards him, swinging her guitar as far under her as possible. The attack collided with Fender's back, sending him flying into the air. Haruko landed, immediately jumping again. Fender was quick to recover from the blow and spin around. Haruko's guitar collided with Fender's.

"Rahura," Fender sighed, "I had expected you to be more challenging..."

"Sorry I wasn't able to roll out the red carpet for your arrival!" Haruko barked, a drop of blood dripping out the corner of her mouth.

Fender chuckled, "Tis a shame, I had hoped to defeat you at your best..."

Haruko struggled to keep her guitar at odds with Fender's, "Y-yeah? Well, you could always come back later. I'm open this Thursday."

"Hmm," Fender thought, "now's a good a time as any."

With a single push, and with little effort, Fender through Haruko's guitar out of her hands. Causing it to slam into the ground far away from the battle, and leaving Haruko defenseless.

Haruko's eyes widened.

Fender grinned behind his cape.

A huge cloud of smoke rose high above the streets of Mabase, catching Naota's attention. After waiting for Haruko to show up for quite some time, he had decided to simply walk home. He had noticed the tremors before, but had simply dismissed them as his imagination. But this last one had made him think otherwise.

Naota stopped dead in his tracks, "H-Haruko...?"

Haruko lied motionless within the huge impression that Fender's last attack had made. A sudden surge of pain through her body caused her to cough up a large amount of blood. Then the pain set in. Haruko's eyes shot open, beginning to go over the events that had just come to pass, before the immense pain caused her eyes to slam shut and block out the outside world. Focusing only on the anguish her body was in, and not the immediate threat that was Fender.

The cyborg stood atop the crater, watching the women's body writhe in agony. Haruko attempted to turn over, only to find it brought more pain. She managed to open her eyes just enough to focus on the figure standing over her.

"Ahh, Rahura," Fender said, shaking his head, "I'm truly disappointed in you. Where is the thrill of the hunt if the pray isn't doing its best to survive?"

"Bastard," Haruko coughed, more blood accompanying it.

Fender sighed, "Very well, goodbye, Rahura..."

Fender gripped his guitar, holding it high over his head and readying to bring it down upon Haruko to end her life once and for all. However, fate had other plans.

The Custom was knocked out of Fender's grasp, landing on the otherside of the crater. Fender turned his head, clenching his fists. A figure stood atop a nearby building, one with a red symbol glowing brightly on his forehead.

Naota's Flying V returned to his grasp, "Back off..."

Fender smirked, "Ah, you must be that boy..."

"Boy?" Naota scoffed, descending to the sidewalk, "No, my name is Naota! I don't you forget it!"

"That I won't," Fender taunted, "I'll be sure to engrave it on your tombstone..."

Naota leapt at the cyborg, his Flying V at the ready. The boy swung, but Fender was quick to leap back out of range. In a mere flash, Fender slid to a stop, grabbing his Custom and Haruko's Rickenbacker off the ground, and immediately zoomed towards Naota. The young guitarist noticed this, quickly acting to ducking under Fender's attacks. Fender retaliated, flinging Haruko's guitar back at Naota. The boy span around, catching the guitar. The momentum of the guitar threw Naota back. Thinking quick, Naota landed on the side of a near building, and, reversing the momentum, span back towards Fender in a whirlwind of guitars.

Fender's eyes widened, "He's more skilled then I anticipated-"

The guitars connected with the alien, sending Fender flying into a wall, leaving a huge impression his wake. Fender slid to the ground, catching his breath. Naota turned his attention to the injured Haruko, sliding down into the crater.

Naota sat down beside her, propping her head up on his knee, "Haruko! Haruko, are you alright!?"

The women remained motionless.

"Haruko..." Naota whimpered, beginning to cry.

She coughed, "I'm not dead..."

"Haruko!" Naota screamed smiling.

Sirens rang out through the streets.

Fender turned his head, watching red and blue lights fill the streets not to far away. The alien placed his metallic fingers to his mouth, whistling. In a flash, his chopper was at his side. Fender jammed his Custom into the back of his seat, before mounting the motorcycle. Fender revved the engine, turning to the two guitarists in the crater.

"This fight is not yet over, I will return. I suggest that you prepare yourselves," Fender announced, his red eyes glowing.

The figure rode off, at blinding speeds. Comparable to the speed Haruko's Vespa could reach. Naota acted fast, pulling Haruko onto his back, and leaping out of the crater. Naota hopped on the Vespa, flipping it on and revving the engine. The Vespa sped off, Haruko clinging tightly to Naota's back.

"Haruko..." Naota began, "who was that?"

"That..." Haruko whispered weakly into the boy's ear, "is a problem..."

**Ride on Shooting Star**

Orange no slide utusu sora

Sponge no pride burasagete

Spider

Iki touta sono yakan wa

kakusanaku tatte ii'n da

Iro no tsuita yume mitai na

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

Grunge no hamster otona bite

Revenge no logster hiki tsurete

Sniper

fuchi dotta sono sekai ni

nani ga mier'ute iiunda nerau mae ni

sawaritai na

Ride on shooting star

kimi wo sagashite kindan shojoujju

uso wo tsuita

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

**Episode Trivia:**

1.) Fender uses, appropriately, a Fender guitar; a Fender Custom. This guitar was nothing but a six stringed Fender Electric XII and has since been discontinued. There is some meaning to the Gibson/Fender guitars that will be revealed later in the story.

2.) The first chapter were Naota's papa makes an appearance!

3.) Mamimi asks if Naota's band is a parody band, this is because "Medical Metallica" is a pun of Medical Mechanica and Metallica.

4.) The name of the "gig" is the "House of Wolves," this is from a song by My Chemical Romance. (Which I'm a fan of.) The next chapter will, by the way, take place there.

5.) This chapter is the first time Naota's mother has ever been mentioned. I really don't have much to back it up, but I assume Naota's mother passed away.

6.) Eri refers to Naota, Gaku, and Masashi as the "Stooges," in reference to the Three Stooges. This is also a nod to Neon Genesis Evangelion, where Asuka and Hikari often referred to Shinji, Toji, and Kensuke as such.

7.) "Vitamin In" is the name of the drink that Naota and Ninamori drink in episode 3, Marquis de Carabas, as part of a supposed product placement. Also, in a nod to the "Crystal Pepsi" mentioned in the dub of the series, Naota and Ninamori drink "New Coke," the Coke version of Crystal Pepsi, which has been discontinued and replaced with "Coke Classic."

8.) Naota and his band mention a number of songs for their Set list, they include: Killing in the Name by Rage Against The Machine, Stop! by Jane's Addiction, Madhouse by Anthrax, Are You Gonna Be My Girl? by JET, Radium Eyes by Count Zero, Women by Wolfmother, and Dead! by My Chemical Romance.

9.) Eri mentions that the only reason that Naota wants to play Dead! is because he is able to play the opening riff. It is apparently rather difficult. In live performances, the guitarist Ray Toro doesn't even play it all. He simply skips it and continues to play the rest of the song.

10.) Naota suggests they play Hybrid Rainbow, as song from Episode 2 of FLCL. It is played by The pillows, the band who wrote most of the music for the series.

11.) Gaku asks if they should play "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" as a joke. This is the main theme of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

12.) Fender refers to Haruko as Rahara Rahura, Rahura for short. This is one of Haruko's aliases, Haruha Raharu is another alias that Amarao refers to her by.

13.) If there was to be a voice actor for Fender, my first and only choice would be Billy Zane. Zane also voiced Xehanort (Referred to as "Ansem" in Kingdom Hearts out of ignorance.) In KH1 and CoM.

14.) The "whirlwind of guitars" attack Naota uses is similar to a Reaction Command in Kingdom Hearts 2, where Sora is flung at a column by Beast's Castle boss: Dark Thorn. He then retaliates with the "Slingshot" Reaction Command.


	6. Guitar Hero

**Guitar Hero**

_'You can't let fear stop you now, Naota. You've come this far, you can't just quit. Look, just remain calm. Let the music flow through you. Think of it as just you, your fingers, and the strings. They're all that matters now.'_

The red curtain before Naota opened, revealing the blinding lights behind them. The audience applauded from their tables upon the opening of the drapes.

'_Alright, Naota, let's do this,'_ He thought to himself.

Eri began strumming her Gibson SG Reissue 4-String bass, her special guitar for when ever she had to play bass. Starting off with a well paced steady tune, played mostly in the lower notes. The drums quickly joined, along with the guitar, from Masashi and Naota respectively. It felt weird for him at first, he hadn't played guitar for the band in a long while; though he welcomed the chance to use his Flying V. Naota's pace sped up, along with a change of beat. The tune was very reminiscent of the funk slap bass sound. Naota stepped up to the microphone, he sang:

"_People..._

_Keep on learnin'_

_Soldiers..._

_Keep on warrin'_

_World,_

_Keep on turnin'_

_Cause it wont be too long."_

Naota stopped singing, continuing to play his guitar as he bobbed his head to the beat, walking around the stage. A jumped back to the mike.

"_Powers..._

_Keep on lyin,_

_While your people..._

_Keep on dyin'_

_World,_

_Keep on turnin,_

_Cause it wont be too long."_

Naota stepped back from the mike, keeping the beat, as the chorus –consisting of Ninamori, Masashi, and Gaku– joined in.

"_I'm so darn glad he let me try it again,_

_Cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin._

_I'm so glad that I know more than I knew then._

_Gonna keep on tryin' till I reach the highest ground."_

The beat remained as the chorus faded out. Naota came back up to the microphone.

"_Teachers..._

_Keep on teachin'_

_Preachers..._

_Keep on preachin'_

_World..._

_Keep on turnin,_

_Cause it wont be too long."_

"_Oh, no!"_

Naota began to get more into the music, starting to strum harder and faster, in a more stylish way. His moves ranging from Shotgun poses to Windmills. He began to sing once more:

"_Lovers..._

_Keep on lovin'_

_While believers..._

_Keep on believin'_

_Sleepers..._

_Just stop sleepin'_

_Cause it wont be too long."_

"_Oh, no!"_

Naota stepped away from the mike, beginning bang his head to the beat. While the chorus joined in:

"_I'm so darn glade they let me try it again,_

_cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin._

_I'm so glad that I know more than I knew then._

_Gonna keep on tryin' till I reach the highest ground."_

The beat kept, while Naota, no longer singing, but speaking normally, played his guitar. While the chorus sang:

"An' Stevie knows that, uh, no-body's gonna bring me down..."

'_Till I reach the highest ground...'_

"Cause me n' Stevie, see, were gonna be a sailin' on the funky sound..."

'_Till I reach the highest ground...'_

"Bustin' out, an' I'll break you out, cause I'm sailin' on..."

'_Till I reach the highest ground...'_

"Just, uh, sailin' on, sailin' on the higher ground..."

'_Till I reach the highest ground...'_

The lyrics ended, now the pace sped up. The song's finale with a final strum of Natoa's Flying V. The crowd applauded and cheered. Medical Metallica relaxed, having played their first song, in their first gig, without any complications. Naota stepped up to the microphone.

"That was Higher Ground, the cover by Red Hot Chilli Peppers. We'll be back for more after this short break," Naota gave a bow, walking back stage, the curtain closing in his wake.

The four band members gathered behind the curtain, all relieved that their first song came and went with no trouble.

Masashi wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, "That was a rush..."

"Hey!" Gaku shouted, "Let's play YYZ! I wanna be able to use my keyboard at least once!"

Naota and Ninamori exchanged glances.

Masashi sighed, "We might as well let him have his moment..."

Ninamori thought for a second, "I suppose... But don't screw it up!"

"I wont! I promise!" Gaku said, grabbing his keyboard and motioning the help to open the curtains.

Naota sighed, "Well, let's do this!"

The band took their respective spots on stage, as the song began. Starting the show with YYZ's popular opening. Naota wasn't much into instrumentals, he preferred songs with lyrics. But he welcomed the chance not to sing for a song. He'd be singing all night after all. As the song went on, Naota's mind seemed to wonder as he played his guitar.

_'Last night, I guess you're wondering what happened. I was able to drive the Vespa home, with Haruko on my back,_ _while dodging the police as well. I got lucky. I was able to defeat Fender, while Haruko was almost killed.'_

The night before, Naota had carried Haruko into the house and sat her on the couch. It was past midnight and the other residents of the Nadaba household were already asleep. Naota walked up to the injured Haruko, pulling out a first aid kit. The boy took a spot beside her, as she mended her wounds.

Naota turned his head, looking away from her, "Are... you alright?"

Haruko smirked at the question, "No, I always cough blood..."

"You don't have to be so sarcastic!" Naota shouted, turning back to her.

Haruko just stared back at him.

_'It was... weird... I think... that it was the first time that I actually realized that... Haruko was... hurt...'_

Naota looked away again, "Who-"

"Was he?" Haruko interrupted.

Naota nodded.

"He, was Fender,"Haruko said, leaning back into the couch.

"Fender?" Naota thought, "Was he a MM robot?"

Haruko chuckled a little, causing a sliver of pain in her chest, "No, he's not. He's far worse."

Naota frowned, "What?"

"An _Intergalactic Bounty Hunter_ as he calls himself," Haruko explained.

Naota was silent as he thought.

"He's been on my ass for five years now. Chasing me back-and-forth across the galaxy. We were lucky he didn't show up three years before... We'd all be dead..." Haruko continued, wiping some blood from her mouth.

"What do we do about him?" Naota asked.

"Try not to be _killed_ by him..." Haruko frowned, looking up at the ceiling.

The song came to an end, Gaku finishing the last few notes of the instrumental. The crowd cheered, the curtain closing. Naota snapped back into reality, setting his Flying V down. Naota sat down on a stool, as Ninamori came up to him.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

Naota seemed unresponsive for a moment, "Y-yeah..." He managed to stutter.

"Hmm..." Eri thought, "You don't seem okay..."

"I'm fine, I'm just thinking..." Naota sighed, tuning his V.

"About?"

"Everything," Naota answered simply.

Ninamori tilted her head, "You mean the robots, and the horns? Medical Mechanica? Haruko...?"

Naota stood up, ignoring her comments, "Masashi, let's do a song real fast."

Naota picked up his guitar, "Follow my lead."

Masashi nodded.

The curtains opened once more, revealing Naota and Masashi. Naota stepped up to the mike.

"Now, we'll do one of my personal favorite songs," Naota announced, beginning to strum his guitar.

The strumming was quick, going from high to low a few times before the drums joined and Naota began to sing.

"_Fell in love with a girl,_

_I fell in love once and almost completely_

_She's in love with the world,_

_But sometimes these feelings_

_Can be so misleading_

_She turns and says "Are you alright?"_

_I said "I must be fine because my heart's still beating"_

_Come and kiss me by the riverside, yeah,_

_Bobby says its fine he don't consider it cheating now_

_Red hair with a curl,_

_Mellow roll for the flavor,_

_And the eyes for peeping_

_Can't keep away from the girl_

_These two sides of my brain_

_Need to have a meeting_

_Can't think of anything to do, yeah_

_My left brain knows that_

_All love is fleeting_

_She's just looking for something new, yeah_

_And I said it once before,_

_But it bears repeating now"_

"_Aaaaaah ah!_

_Aaaaaah ah!_

_Aaaaaah ah!_

_Aaaaaah ah!"_

"_Can't think of anything to do, yeah_

_My left brain knows that_

_All love is fleeting_

_She's just looking for something new, yeah_

_And I said it once before,_

_But it bears repeating now"_

"_Fell in love with a girl,_

_Fell in love once and almost completely_

_She's in love with the world,_

_But sometimes these feelings_

_Can be so misleading_

_She turns and says "Are you alright?"_

_I said "I must be fine because my heart's still beating"_

_Come and kiss me by the riverside, yeah,_

_Bobby says its fine he don't consider it cheating now"_

"_Aaaaaah ah!_

_Aaaaaah ah!_

_Aaaaaah ah!_

_Aaaaaah ah!"_

"_Can't think of anything to do, yeah_

_My left brain knows that_

_All love is fleeting_

_She's just looking for something new, yeah_

_And I said it once before,_

_But it bears repeating now"_

The song finally came to an end, with a final strum of Naota's guitar. Naota grabbed the microphone.

"That was Fell in Love With a Girl, by The White Stripes," Naota announced, the crowd give applause.

One comment from the crowd caught the boy's attention.

"Freebird!" A member of the audience called.

The voice was familiar to Naota, he scanned the crowd. A waving hand caught his eye, and there Mamimi sat waving her arm like a madman.

She grinned.

"Uhh..." Naota stuttered, "We're going to take a break now, but don't go anywhere. There's more Medical Metallica to come!"

Naota sat down in the booth seat Mamimi managed to get. Quite a good spot, front row. Mamimi grinned as he sat down.

"Good show," she smiled, leaning toward him on her elbows.

"Heh," Naota smirked, "I'm just getting warmed up!"

"So confident," Mamimi said to herself.

"Uh, where's Canti, Trigger, and Haruko?" Naota asked, searching the club for them.

"Oh, them? They weren't able to come. Canti and Trigger decided to stay home and take care of Haruko," Mamimi explained.

"Oh..." the guitarist nodded.

"Hmm," she thought, her finger to her bottom lip, "Haruko was looking pretty rough this mourning, her arm was in a sling. What happened to her anyway?"

"She was driving to Eri's to pick me up, and this 'Fender' guy attacked her," Naota explained, crossing his arms with concern.

Mamimi rested her head on her hands.

"She was beaten pretty bad when I got there. I was able to fend off the guy, just as the cops showed up. I managed to make it home alright with Haruko," Naota said, with a heavy sigh.

Mamimi thought, "Well, look on the bright side, at least he doesn't know where to find you."

The double doors at the front of the club flew off their hinges, flying at Naota and Mamimi with amazing force. Naota thought quick, sliding over the table and pushing Mamimi down under it. However, Naota wasn't quite quick enough to duck under the table himself. The door collided, sending Naota flying on to the stage. Luckily, though much to Masashi's dismay, the drum set broke his fall. Mamimi crawled out from under the table, realizing what had happened.

"Naota!" she cried.

Her attention was quickly drawn away from the injured guitarist to the figure standing in the doorway, a figure with a trilby hat.

"Ah," Fender sighed, entering the club, the audience scrambling for cover, "I do so love the night life."

The cyborg scanned throughout the club through his sunglasses.

"Hmm, now where is that boy?" he thought, aloud.

"Right here!"

Fender turned, only to find the door flying back at him. With one swift, fluid movement, the alien easily punched the door, splitting it in two. Fender watched as the piece smashed into the wall behind him. He turned toward the stage, finding a furious Naota panting heavily over the wreckage of Masashi's drums, the guitarist's fists clenched tight.

"Ah! All hail the conqoring hero!" Fender laughed, pulling his guitar from under his coat and resting it across his shoulders.

Naota huffed, Ninamori coming to his side.

"Is that? Is that Fender?" Eri asked, staring at the figure in the doorway.

"Yeah," Naota panted, standing upright as he could, "that's him."

Mamimi scrambled on to the stage, hiding behind Naota, "What does he want?"

"'What do I want?'" Fender recited, obviously hearing Mamimi's comment.

Fender took a few more steps into the club, "I've heard your playing skills. It seems you're quite the guitarist. Of course, heh, so am I."

Fender pulled his guitar off his shoulders, striking his playing position.

"Your point?" Naota asked, grabbing his V off its stand.

"Simply put?" Fender began, playing a simple tune on his Custom, "I challenge you to a musical duel."

"Heh," Naota smirked, "you're kidding, right?"

"Hmm," Fender thought to himself, "Rahura must've not taught you the power of the riff..."

Fender smiled.

"This should be... interesting."

Naota motioned for his friends to leave the stage, as he got a better grip on his guitar, "I accept."

Fender's smile grew wider from behind his cape, "Good."

In an instant, Fender had leapt across the club and onto the stage, paralleling Naota.

The boy sneered, "So, how does this 'musical duel' work?"

"Simple," Fender began, "we each play a riff with our guitars. Last one standing wins..."

"Hmm, alright, you start," Naota sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Fine," Fender grinned, pulling a blue guitar pick out of his coat pocket.

Fender began his riff, a simple start, a piece very reminiscent of Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water. However, it wasn't the fluent movements of Fender's fingers that were the point of interest, but the odd vibe that seemed to radiate outward from his guitar. Naota noticed the energy straight off. He wasn't sure, but the power was somehow familiar to him. To the crowd and Naota's amazement, the energy manifested itself, gathering in the form of a dark blue orb in front of the alien's Custom. Naota gasped, Fender grinned evilly.

Fender's solo came to a sudden stop.

"Now witness the true power of the riff!" Fender shouted, titling the headstock of his guitar towards the heavens.

In an instant, the orb fired itself at Naota, at blinding speeds. If it wasn't for the boy's sharp reflexes, the attack would have done him in easily. Naota jumped aside, the attack crashing into the, already, destroyed drum set, this time, completely eradicating it. Naota landed, his eyes opened wide as he fully perceived the power of the attack.

"What the hell was that!?" Naota shouted, his hands shaking.

"That," Fender began, "was a energy riff. An amazingly powerful attack, powered by the strength of the music you play. The more powerful the riff, the more powerful the attack."

Naota thought to himself, _'Damn, the more powerful the riff, the more powerful the attack? Man, and that was only Smoke on the Water... I don't even want to know what will happen if he does something bigger...'_

"You could have warned me about that!" Naota shouted, his anger rising.

Fender chuckled, "Where would be the fun in that?"

Naota frowned, "Alright..."

Hoped back on stage, planting his feet firmly on the ground. Naota quickly began his riff, playing one of his personal favorite tunes. None other than the solo from Megadeth's Symphony of Destruction. However, to Naota's surprise, nothing happened. No energy, no orb, no vibe for that matter.

"What?!" Naota screamed, dumbfounded by his failure.

"So," Fender thought, aloud, "Rahura truly didn't teach you how to use the riff... Interesting..."

Fender turned his attention to the young guitarist, "Of course, there _is_ a certain trick to it."

Naota sighed, "Now he tells me..."

"Here," Fender smiled, devilishly, "allow me to give you another example!"

The cyborg was quick to resume strumming, playing a new, more complex tune. Naota was quick to recognize it. It was none other than the riff from Black Sabbath's Iron Man. Naota watched as an even larger quantity of energy. The vibes instantly collecting into a new blue orb before Fender's guitar. The alien gave Naota no time to reacted, instantly tilting his guitar and firing the attack. Naota wasn't given the chance to dodge. The attack connected, sending the young guitarist into the concrete wall of the club, hitting with so much force, Naota's form was impressed into it.

Naota coughed, a drop of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Naota!" Eri screamed, in concern.

Naota stepped out of the impression, raising his hand, "I'm fine, I've been hit harder then that and come out without a scratch..."

"Resilient little cuss, aren't you?" Fender smirked.

Naota wiped the blood from his lip with his sleeve, "You have _no_ idea..."

Naota shook off the blow, beginning to play a riff, only hopping for it to work. Naota played another famous tune, The Eagle's Hotel California, the solo, only at a slightly faster pace.

Fender was impressed by his effort, "He is rather talented... Ha... If only he could harness that talent..."

Naota finished, once more, on a dry note. No attack formed.

Naota now found himself mentally kicking himself, _'Damn! What is it that lets him call that power?!'_

Fender laughed, "Nice try, but no cigar!"

Fender picked up his guitar, playing fast enough you'd expect his pick to burst into flame. Fender was playing the riff from Stop! By Jane's Addiction. Naota watched, the energy gathering once more.

A spark lit in Naota's eye, "Got it."

Fender titled his guitar, the shot zooming at the boy. Naota turned watching as the attack passed by. The boy quickly readied his guitar, assuming his playing position.

'_Okay,'_ Naota thought to himself, _'I need your help here. I can't do this alone. I just don't have the strength by myself. I know you can hear me. Now please, if there was ever a time that I need you, that time is now!'_

Naota gripped his pick, beginning to play his Flying V. He's chose the strongest tune he could think of off the top of his head. The guitar solo from Avenged Sevenfold's Bat Country. This time; however, something welled up inside him. Energy. Pure, red energy. In a flash it began to appear before Naota's eyes, growing bigger as he played.

Fender's eyes opened wide, "He's figured it out."

Naota grinned, "Take this!"

Naota tilted his guitar, unleashing the attack and sending the sphere flying at Fender. The attack was to powerful, and far to fast for Fender to even have a chance of dodging. The orb collided, sending Fender through the club wall.

Haruko eyes shot open, the woman sitting up from the couch with a shout, startling Trigger and causing him to slip off the love seat. Canti quickly came to the panting woman's side.

Haruko huffed, "That... energy..."

Naota grinned, "That's all there is to it..."

Fender sat up, out of the rubble of the club wall, now smashed all over the alleyway. Fender frowned, finding that the last attack severely damaged his left leg, exposing it's wiring and hardware.

Fender stood, "So, you've figured out how to use the riff. A lot of good it will do you."

"Let's just see about that," Naota smirked, gripping his guitar.

Fender cracked his neck, "Let's."

Fender began to strum, playing the riff from Guns N' Roses' Welcome to the Jungle. The attack flew towards Naota, who easily dodged it, immediately countering with the solo from Motörhead's Ace of Spades. Fender slipped by the attack, countering with a piece of Pantera's Cowboy's from Hell.

Ninamori and Mamimi watched as the two guitarists dueled one another. Each round their riffs out doing the other.

Mamimi ran up to Eri, "If they just keep playing like this the battle will just drag on forever!"

Ninamori thought, "We need a finisher... Something no one can top..."

Mamimi thought.

The redhead smiled at her stroke of brilliance, "Freebird!"

Naota stopped, hearing the words, "That's it!"

The boy dodged Fender's attack, as he began his encore. Naota began to play, the energy beginning to swell before him. The famous solo that comprised almost the entirety of Lynard Skynard's rock anthem; Freebird. Fender was awestruck by the swiftness of his pick, moving so fast that it broke in two. Naota couldn't allow the riff to end prematurely, he threw the pick away, resorting to his fingers. However, the immense friction was to much for his fingers to hold out long. In a mere moment, the tips of his fingers were slit open, drops of blood flying from the fret board, enticing gasps from Ninamori and Mamimi. Naota could only ignore the pain, he still had some ways to go. More energy gathered, now materializing around Naota, as a sort of aura, rather than attack. Naota continued, the pain in his bleeding finger tips now beginning to become unbearable. He only had a little more to go. Naota began to finish the song, swiftly moving his fingers to the final notes of Freebird.

Naota rose his hand to the sky on the final note.

Fender clenched his teeth.

Naota smirked, bringing his hand down, delivering the final note. The aura radiated out from Naota, focusing its power towards the cyborg. The attack collided.

A beam of light rose to the heavens above Mabase. Haruko stood from the Nandaba household's roof, gazing upon the ray of light.

"He truly is... amazing..."

**Ride on Shooting Star**

Orange no slide utusu sora

Sponge no pride burasagete

Spider

Iki touta sono yakan wa

kakusanaku tatte ii'n da

Iro no tsuita yume mitai na

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

Grunge no hamster otona bite

Revenge no logster hiki tsurete

Sniper

fuchi dotta sono sekai ni

nani ga mier'ute iiunda nerau mae ni

sawaritai na

Ride on shooting star

kimi wo sagashite kindan shojoujju

uso wo tsuita

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

**Episode Trivia:**

1.) The title of this chapter is an obvious nod to the game Guitar Hero for the Playstation 2. Probably one of the best games ever made, it really helped me in my rock and guitar knowledge for this fanfiction.

2.) The first song Medical Metallica plays is Higher Ground by Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Based on the reference in Brittle Bullet, I thought it was quite appropriate.

3.) The second song Medical Metallica plays is YYZ by RUSH. The reason that Gaku brings it up, is because Masashi called the first song a "rush." Alluding to the band's name.

4.) Naota and Masashi preform Fell in Love With a Girl by The White Stripes. Personally, I think this song, with its beat and lyrics, may represent FLCL as a whole. (With words such as "the two sides of my brain need to have a meeting", "come and kiss me by the riverside", and "red hair with a curl".)

5.) Mamimi screams "Freebird!" after Naota's performance. A cliche in the rock community, as well as a running joke in the Guitar Hero series, that it is the most requested encore (Along with Led Zepplin's Stairway to Heaven.) at any concert, regardless of genre.

6.) The various riffs that Naota and Fender play during their duel include: Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple, Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth, Iron Man by Black Sabbath, Hotel California by The Eagles, Bat Country by Avenged Sevenfold, Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N' Roses, Ace of Spades by Motörhead, Cowboys from Hell by Pantera, and, as Naota's "encore", Freebird by Lynard Skynard. (Kind of ironic, isn't it?)


	7. Guitar Strings and Baseball Bats

**Guitar Strings and Baseball Bats**

_'Legs spread, same width as the shoulders; body tight, then hit the ball like your defeating the enemy. There, the pinky finger is the key and then you just hit, hit, hit! Heh, who would have guessed she knew anything about Baseball?'_

Naota smashed his bat into the oncoming ball, hitting it with enough force, that if it was a person's head, it would have died from blunt trauma. The baseball went soaring into the air, disappearing in the clouds. The opposing team stood with there jaws dropped, as Naota proudly strutted to first base, then second, and third. His Martians baseball cap showing proudly on his brow. The crowd cheered.

Among the bleachers were none other than Mamimi, Ninamori, and Trigger; watching as the infamous number 18, Nandaba Naota, had, once again, smacked off another effortless home run. Mamimi and Eri cheered wildly, as Trigger scratched his head, not yet fully comprehending the game.

"Safe!" the umpire announced, accompanied by the "chopping" action they were famous for, as Naota stepped over home plate with a yawn.

Nandaba's fellow teammates in the dugout laughed and congratulated themselves. Another win chalked up for the Mabase Martians.

"Who would have thought the kid would be such a great player!?" one of the players asked another.

"Yeah! A few years ago the kid was out there counting strikes, now he's hitting home runs like they're going out of style!" another answered.

One of the Martians smacked Canti on the back, the robot responded with a nod.

Kamon smiled to himself, the title "Coach" showing proudly on the back of his jersey, "That's my boy."

Naota stepped down into the dugout, his fellow teammates cheering for him.

"Great hit, Naota!" one shouted.

"Nice job, Nandaba," another congratulated.

"Sweet ass, boy!" said another in a deep voice, smacking Naota's rump.

Naota flipped around, anger burning in his eyes, "I told you before, Jimmi, you switch hitting bastard! Don't touch my a-"

Naota froze as his eyes met a set of familiar green ones.

Haruko smiled, "Howdy, Ta-kun."

The guitarist grimaced, "Hey, Haruko..."

Haruko placed her hands on her hips, eyeing the dugout and Naota's fellow teammates.

Naota frowned, "Non-team members aren't allowed in the-"

"Relax," Haruko sighed, coming up behind him and placing her arms around his waist, "the game's over."

Naota's eye lids lowered in fatigue, he did get tired of her feeling him up, so to speak, but he knew there was no way to avoid it. Naota heard whispers float through his fellow Martians, with words like "Lucky" and "He's running for home, if you know what I mean". Naota sighed heavily.

'_It's like déjà vu all over again...'_ Naota thought to himself.

Naota's father stepped up to them, "Besides, Naota, Haruko has signed a contract for ten games with the Mabase Martians."

"What?" Naota choked, with disbelief.

"We're teammates now," Haruko said, nibbling the boy's earlobe.

"Ahh, Haruko-san," Kamon said, smoothly, moving closer to her, "would you like a tour of first base?"

Haruko put her hand to his face, stopping his puckered lips in their place, "Get lost, _Gay_mon."

Kamon flicked his tongue between the fingers pressed against his mouth, "Wanna skip to third then?"

In an instant, Haruko was kicking Kamon in his fetal position in the corner of the dugout.

"I've told you time and time again, you old fart! I have _no_ interest in you or your stupid head! So quit asking!" the alien shouted, shoving her heel into the old man's kidney.

"Ah! Ow! Hey, Haruko-san, I told you, I'm not one for the rough stuff!" Kamon coughed, Haruko still kicking him relentlessly.

"Careful, Haruko," Naota said, slipping his hands in his pockets, "he pays the bills..."

Deep within the darkness of Medical Mechanica, the three monoliths stood. A single light shining down between them.

"Fender has been... decommissioned," 02 relayed.

"Yes, the bounty hunter was defeated by the boy," 03 said, a sense of anger in its monotone voice.

"True, however, he is still alive. He is currently being repaired. He will soon be working at full capacity again," 01 explained.

"And until Fender is repaired?" 03 quizzed.

"Ahh," 02 began, "we continue to test him?"

"Precisely," 01 agreed.

"We will require some assistance," 03 thought.

"Yes," 01 said, a light beaming down from the darkness to the side of the monoliths, revealing none other than Amarao, "Amarao!"

Amarao looked up to 01.

"You will observe the boy and all those connected to him, understood?" 01 asked.

Amarao looked back down, "Yes..."

The sun was setting now, Naota sat among the bleachers with Mamimi and Ninamori, as Canti pitched balls to Haruko, with Trigger standing in the outfield.

Mamimi smiled at Naota, sitting beside her, "Wow, Naota-san, you sure have turned into quite the _playa'_," she joked.

"Yeah," Naota smiled, weakly, everting his gaze to the ground.

His smile quickly turned to a frown.

Eri saddened, "Naota..."

"What's wrong, Naota-san," Mamimi began, "you're probably as good as your brother."

Naota's eyes shot open.

Naota stood up, staring blankly into the sky, "I'm gonna head home..."

Eri sighed, looking away.

Mamimi stood up, "Okay, I'll walk back with-"

"I'm going to take the long way. You best head home yourselves," Naota announced, walking off the bleachers and off the field.

Mamimi sat back down, the worry showing in her mahogany eyes.

Haruko watched as he walked off, her hands resting on the end of her bat as she stood, "What's up with him?"

Naota sat at his desk in his room, Miyu-Miyu lounging his fat body over it. Naota stared repulsively at the old cat.

"My God, you're fat..." Naota said, cocking an eyebrow.

The cats eyes lingered toward his, before diverting away, "Mew..."

"Most cats don't get as fat as you until they're fixed," Naota smirked.

Naota rolled the feline off the desk, much to Miyu-Miyu's dismay. The boy sat, staring into the mirror. He removed his hat. The newest addition to his head sprang up. The young guitarist stared at the horn. It was an oddly shaped piece of flesh. It was somewhat flat, and had and odd curve.

Naota thought, _'What is it...? A... baseball glove?'_

"It gets late early out here..." Mamimi sighed, looking up at the darkening sky.

Mamimi, along with Ninamori, Canti, and Trigger were heading home. Haruko, however, decided to drive back on her Vespa. Ninamori walked just a few feet ahead over Mamimi, her eyes drawn down to the sidewalk as she walked over it.

"Umm... Ninamori?" Mamimi stuttered, crossing her arms behind her back, "Did I... did I say something... wrong to Naota?"

"No..." the violet haired girl replied, "You didn't... not really..."

"But," she sighed, "he seemed so..."

"It's about his brother..." Ninamori said, stopping and turning to the redhead.

"You mean... Tasku-sen-" Mamimi paused, "You mean Tasku?"

"Yeah..." she nodded, continuing to walk down the sidewalk.

Mamimi hurried after her, "Wh-what happened to Tasku?"

"That's... It's not my place to tell you..." Eri sighed, her eyes focused on her feet as she went.

Mamimi saddened, "Why not?"

Ninamori stopped, looking to the sky, "Tell Naota... I'll be staying at my parent's for now on... Okay, Mamimi?"

The redhead nodded, "Oh, alright..."

Mamimi watched as Ninamori walked off. Canti and Trigger came to a stop behind the redhead, as she gazed off into the sky.

"What could've happened to Tasku-senpi?"

Naota sat on the living room couch, restlessly surfing through the channels. Reruns, reruns, boring news, reruns, reruns. Just like Mabase, television never changed, still just as boring or uninteresting as it always was. Though, occasionally the news would have reports over such things as: mysterious meteorite wipes out entire police squadron to cloaked figure ransacks local club. Whatever, it was all the same to Naota.

Suddenly, the front door slew open, hitting the wall behind it with a slam.

The boy sighed.

Haruko zoomed into the room, sliding to a stop behind the couch. The women leaned over the young guitarist.

"Howdy, Ta-kun," she smiled.

Haruko found herself simply staring at his baseball cap; however, as Naota payed her no mind, continuing to mindlessly flip through the channels.

Haruko grimaced, "So, you're gonna' ignore me, huh?"

Naota didn't respond.

"Alright," Haruko nodded.

Naota heard her foot steps as she walked off.

Naota sighed again, thinking to himself, _'I thought I might've had to deal with her...'_

Suddenly, the TV flipped off. Someone had pushed the power button on the remote, he hadn't done it. Naota turned, finding someone else's hand on the remote he held. The boy turned, prepared to shout, only to have a pair of bright green eyes to fill his view. Before he even had the chance to resist, his body was pinned down to the couch.

"The way you handled your bat," Haruko began, staring down at the boy underneath her, "was simply amazing."

Naota everted his gaze away from her, coming to focus on his broth- his old red bat. The bat sat beside the TV, along with Naota's Flying V.

"It weird," Haruko smiled, "three years ago, you could barely handle it..."

Naota looked away from the bat.

"But now," Haruko grinned, "you're an expert."

Haruko moved herself into Naota's view, only to have the boy evert his gaze again.

Haruko moved her lips closer to the boy's, "Why don't you show me how you use it?"

The front door opened. In a mere instant, Haruko was stretched out over the love seat, and Naota had the remote in his hand with the TV already on. Naota sat there, wide eyed. Did that just happen? Or was it all in his head?

Mamimi, Canti, and Trigger walked in, finding the two sitting in the living room.

Mamimi greeted the two, tiredly, "Hello, Naota-san, Haruko..."

"Y-yeah," Naota managed to stutter.

Time passed, the five just sat, watching whatever was on TV. Eventually, as the night drug into the midnight hours, Haruko had headed off to bed atop Naota's bunk, while Canti and Trigger powered down for the night. Only Naota and the young redhead remained.

A silence sat, uncomfortably, between the two.

Mamimi finally gathered the courage to speak, "N-Naota?"

Naota turned to the young photographer, who sat beside him on the couch, "Yeah?"

Mamimi began, swallowing the lump in her throat, "Ninamori-chan, told me that... Well the reason you walked off was... Uhh, I mean, why you were upset was-"

"My brother," Naota finished, everting his gaze to the TV.

"R-right..." Mamimi stuttered, "what h-happened to him?"

Naota stood, without a sound, without a word, as he began his way to the stairs, grabbing his bat and V from beside the TV as he went. Mamimi watched as he started to walk away.

Mamimi turned, leaning over the back of the sofa, "Naota-san?"

"I-" the boy sighed, "-don't want to talk about it..."

The redhead watched as the boy walked up the stairs. She sat, with a heavy sigh. The girl thought for a moment, before stretching her slim body across the sofa. Laying on her stomach, she situated herself into the cushions.

"Tasku..." were the last words to escape her lips, before she drifted off into deep slumber.

Naota lied in his bed, tightly wrapped in his covers, as thoughts flowed through his mind, _'Why do they have to bring __**him**_ _up? I thought, because everyone already knew, I'd never have to tell anyone again. I guess... I was wrong...'_

The boy's thoughts were cut short, as a presence amongst his bed caused the springs to creek and bed to mold into her shape.

"I heard you and Sameji..." Haruko said, plainly, sitting beside the boy.

"Then you already know that I don't want to talk about it," Naota replied, coldly, pulling the sheets over his head, still wearing his baseball cap, and turning away from her.

"You know," the pink haired woman began, "talking about it would make you feel a lot better..."

Naota chuckled, "Now you're a psychologist..."

"Maybe I am," Haruko frowned.

"Right, you're also a nurse and a hair stylist too," Naota cracked, smiling behind his covers.

"I can see your sense of humor is still intact," Haruko grinned.

"Yeah," Naota sighed, returning to his melancholy state of mind.

Haruko placed her hand on his shoulder, "So..."

"Tonight, Haruko," Naota began, pulling away from her touch, "I just want to sleep..."

The alien woman complied, climbing back into her bunk.

Naota watched, from the corner of his eye, as the mattress slightly sank above him from Haruko's presence.

The boy snuggled into his pillow, falling fast asleep,_ 'I'm sorry... Tasku...'_

Naota sat at the kitchen table, the mourning sun shining brightly through the windows. The boy rubbed his eyes, still heavy with sleep. His Martians cap still covering the newest resident of his cranium. Canti placed a plate before him, with a single piece of horribly burnt toast. Naota picked it up with a grimace, knocking it lightly against the table, finding it breaking into two pieces.

The guitarist huffed, "Canti, you burnt it... _Again!_"

Canti shrugged the comment off, as Haruko entered the room.

"Practice starts at 11 O' clock, better not be late," Haruko said, as she walked past Naota and grabbed a piece of toast from Canti.

Naota glanced over at the kitchen clock, "It's 10:48..."

Haruko opened up the backdoor, giving Naota a wink, "You _know_ I'm a fast driver."

And with that, Haruko left, slamming the door in her wake. Naota heard her speed off on her Vespa.

The boy stood, turning his cap around, "Little early for practice..."

Naota walked down the sidewalk, heading towards the old river front, carrying his brother's old bat. Naota was suddenly startled by a presence behind him.

"Naota?" Ninamori asked, walking up beside him.

"Yeah, Eri?" Naota responded; somewhat absentmindedly, as he looked to the sky.

The girl twiddled her fingers, nervously, before she spat out her statement.

"Naota, I think you should tell the others about Tasku..."

He stopped. Ninamori stopped behind him, worry heavy in her lavender eyes; with a hint of fear. Naota turned. Eri found that the boy didn't act exactly how she had expected. She had expected him to breakout into rage and anger, yet, instead, his expression lacked emotion entirely. Ninamori gulped.

"Eri, you know I don't like talking about... _him_," Naota replied, in monotone, turning back around.

Ninamori sighed, "Yeah, but I don't think it's fair to the others that you-"

Naota span around, grabbing Ninamori and pulling her into a nearby ally. The boy pressed her against the brick wall within the shade of the alleyway. Naota swiftly covered her mouth, pressing his forehead hard against her's, trapping the petit girl with the weight of his body. Naota's eyes glowed with red, frightening Eri to a degree. The young girl dug her nails into the stone behind her.

"Ninamori," Naota said forcefully, causing the young girl to cringe in fear, "I already told you. I don't want to talk about my brother. I never made you talk about your parent's goddamned problems. Now just back off!"

The crimson in his eyes suddenly sparked.

Naota let off her, removing his hand from her mouth. The boy stood at the opening to the ally, the redness suddenly dissipating from his eyes. Naota's gaze fell to his feet, his expression suddenly overwhelmed with sadness.

Naota sighed, turning back to her, "I... need some... space, Eri..."

And with that the boy left, leaving Ninamori leaning against the alleyway wall.

She sighed, looking to the sky, "Naota..."

Mamimi sat at the river front, the same place where she and Naota would meet everyday. The redhead snapped a picture, capturing the elegance of the sun glimmering off the river's surface. Mamimi jumped, a sound beside her catching her off guard. She turned, welcomed by a very familiar sight.

"Ta-kun!" she shouted, wrapping her arms around him.

Mamimi hugged him tightly to her chest, running her fingers up and down over his ears.

Mamimi held him out in front of her, the small, black cat staring blankly back at her, "Wear have you been the past few years?"

That responded with a simple "mew," as another cat, a female, white cat, appeared beside her. The white cat accompanied by to other black and white kittens.

Mamimi hugged him to her chest again, "Oh, Ta-kun!"

Mamimi sat him beside the other cat and kittens, "Okay, what to call you..."

"Mimi-chan," the redhead proclaimed the female cat.

"Nao-kun," she named the black kitten.

"And you'll be Sameji-chan," she declared the white kitten.

Mamimi stood, placing her hands on her hips, "Wow, you've got your own little family."

The photographer attention was suddenly caught by another presence. Mamimi turned, finding Naota standing at the river front, on the other side of the bridge. His brother's red bat sitting on the ground beside him. The girl grinned, scooping up Ta-kun's little family and running over to him.

"Look! Look, Naota-san! My little Ta-kun has a family now!" Mamimi cheered, jumping up and down with the cats in her arms.

Naota's eyes shifted over to her, "Ta-kun?"

The boy noticed the black cat she held, "Oh, that cat..."

Mamimi sat, "Yeah, he's grown up too; just like you, Naota..."

Naota didn't respond, he simply watched the river flow before him.

Mamimi puckered her lips, scratching Mimi-chan on the head, "Shouldn't you be at practice?"

"Ha!" Naota smirked, "Like I _need_ practice!"

The redhead sighed, smiling, "Just like Tasku..."

Naota's muscles tensed, his eyes lowering into a scowl.

"Naota," Mamimi began, "what happened to him...?"

"I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it!" he spelled out, clenching his fists.

Mamimi sat the cats beside her, standing up, "Naota, I know that you don't want to talk about him, but, I think, I have a right to know what happened to him... He may be your brother, but there was a time when me and him were... something more..."

Naota was silent, his fingertips digging their way deeper into his palms.

The redhead shouted, "Naota!"

Naota flipped around, ripping off his hat and throwing it to the ground in anger, "Fine!"

Mamimi flinched.

"You wanna know what happened to my brother?! I'll tell you!"

Naota sighed, calming himself down, "About two years ago, some things happened to my brother, while he was in America. It was a normal game, home team verses the Montreal Expos. It was the bottom of the seventh, and my brother was up to bat; however, it would be the last time he _ever_ did so..."

Mamimi frowned, as Naota continued, "It turns out, Tasku had made a deal with some... people to throw an earlier game in his favor. You see, even with my brother's skill, he found that staying on top of the game was rather difficult. Whether it was because of better players, or just bad luck. My brother began to search out other methods of winning the game; he'd do anything to stay at the top. Eventually, Tasku came upon some people who would rig the game in his favor, for a price. When my brother couldn't come up with the money to pay them off, they decided to make him pay..."

Mamimi gulped.

"And so," Naota began, "they payed off the pitcher of the opposing team to throw Tasku a beanball, but with the single intention of ending my brother's Major League career forever... He threw the ball, the ball struck Tasku..."

Naota sat down, looking up to the sky, as the redhead sat beside him, "The ball suck him in the shoulder, shattering his right shoulder blade in three places, as well as breaking the joint of his right humerus. That event was the end of my brother's baseball career. Without his career to payoff the bills, he fell into dept. Soon after that his girlfriend left him. We offered to fly him back to Mabase, but he refused. As time went on, we eventually lost contact with him. We haven't heard from him in the last two years... and I'm starting to think... we never will..."

Mamimi scooted over to the boy, slowly wrapping her arms around him, "Oh... Naota..."

Naota sighed, as he sat in the redheads lap. Suddenly, realization hit him, Naota's eyes shooting wide open. Not brought his hand to his forehead, finding... nothing.

Naota gasped.

Ninamori suddenly screamed from the bleachers, clenching her head in pain. The shouts of the young girl disrupted the Martians' practice, the players stopping to stare at the girl. Haruko leapt out of the dugout, along with Canti, watching as the glove-like horn jutted out from her head. Trigger, sitting beside her, jumped up, scrambling away from her.

The small crowd around her stopped and watched in horror as the horn grew, transforming in a huge, thick, gloved hand and arm, similar to that of Fire Starter's. Oddly enough, the glove was a left handed one.

Haruko gasped, "Uh-oh..."

Naota shoved his bat into Mamimi's arms, which were also preoccupied by the cats. Naota pulled his cap back on, pulling the visor around to the back of his head.

"Listen, Mamimi, I want you to run home and stay there," Naota ordered, whistling through his fingers.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, with slight confusion.

Naota rose his hand, his Flying V landing swiftly in his palm, "Take care of business..."

The rest of the MM bot swiftly made its way out of Ninamori's cranium, as the crowd and the rest of the Mabase Martians scrambled for cover. The robot forced its way out, landing with a hard and heavy "thud" before Haruko, Canti, and Trigger upon the baseball field.

The Medical Mechanica bot was a bit larger than Fire Starter, with a similar build and shape. Its color was a sort of light, though dull, green. The robot's left arm was big and thick, with an odd rut flowing down its inside. His huge left hand had a sort of webbing between its five fingers, giving it the look of a baseball glove. Its right arm was thin and much less strong as its left. A large hole with an odd contraption behind it sat on his left shoulder. The robot's right hand was rather small as well, obviously indicating the robot was left handed, that is if robots _can_ have handedness. The robot was thick at the torso, while thin at the waist. The robot's legs were very much like those of Canti's, abet larger to support the robot's large frame. The robot's head was little more then a large hump on the top of its torso, with a red, baseball cap-like helmet. The MM bot had four eyes, two on each side of its face; the one in front on both sides slightly larger. The robot stood kneeling on one knee, using its smaller right arm to support itself.

Canti got into battle position, as Trigger pulled his handguns from their holsters.

Haruko snapped her fingers, "Crap, I don't have my guitar!"

The robot's shoulder mechanism began to hum, a orb of white energy with traces of red quickly rolling out of it and down the rut of its arm, and into its hand.

The three gasped.

A huge beam of white energy zoomed into the sky over Mabase. Naota watched as the beam tore a hole in the skyline, quickening his pace towards the baseball fields.

Haruko, Canti, and Trigger stood at opposite edges of the crater. The MM bot rolling another orb into its hand.

Trigger, however, was not about to get attacked again. Iblis jumped over the MM bot, firing a volley of shots at it. The shots were little more then an annoyance to the robot; however, as they simply bounced off its top armor. The robot reacted quickly, tossing the orb of energy into the air. Trigger thought fast, tossing one of its guns to Haruko, seconds before the attack connected. Haruko caught the over sized handgun, firing of three shots at the robots soft, exposed underbelly. The robot charged another orb, instantly flinging it at the woman with great force. Haruko dashed towards the MM bot, ducking under the ball, which came dangerously close to her face. The alien woman began to slide on her back, coming to a stop under the robot. She quickly fired off another five shots at the machine. The robot; however, had other plan. The machine brought its huge, gloved hand down on top of her, trapping her under him. The robot's finders dug into the ground like a cage, pinning Haruko to the ground and rendering Trigger's gun useless. Canti was swift, he jumped towards the robot, delivering a bone crushing blow to its head. The robot began to fall backwards; however, while keeping his gloved hand dug into the dirt, it reversed Canti's blow, flipping its body around in an almost dance-like kick. The blow from the machine sent Canti to the ground. Haruko thought quick.

"Canti!" she shouted, sliding Trigger's gun to him.

Canti scooped up the gun, firing a blast to the robot's stomach, sending it to the ground and releasing Haruko. Haruko rolled off the field, and into the dugout. Trigger hopped into the air, grabbing his shuriken from his back and throwing it at the robot. The attack hit, forcing the machine into the ground, creating an impression. The robot stood, shaking off the blow. The machine looked up to Trigger, quickly grabbing him by the leg with its right, and then following up with a punch from the left, sending Iblis flying into the air. The robot landed atop the dugout, which Haruko quickly leapt out of, brandishing a large aluminum bat.

"Take this!" Haruko shouted, bashing the robot in the head.

The attack did little, the bat simply bent upon contact. Haruko cursed. The robot jumped onto its left hand, gracefully delivering another breakdancing kick to the woman. Haruko flew over the field, flying over the back fences. Home run.

Naota continued to run towards the baseball field, his guitar on his back. A shadow suddenly fell upon him. Naota looked up. The alien woman landed upon the boy, sending both of them to the ground. Naota sat up, rubbing his head. Haruko rolled of him.

"What's going on?!" Naota asked, standing up.

Haruko stood, turning back towards the field with her fists clenched, "That robot came bursting out on Ninamori's head."

Naota looked to the fields, finding Canti and Trigger continuing their assault on the machine. The robot tossed another attack with its left hand, almost hitting the Lord of Dark Flame.

Naota then gave the robot its proper name, "Southpaw..."

Mamimi watched from the streets of Mabase, as she ran through the town towards the Nandaba household. The redhead stopped, looking to the bat in her hands.

"Naota," she thought.

Naota smashed his guitar into the side of Southpaw, catching the MM bot of guard, and sending it to the ground. Canti took this as a chance to strike, bringing its clenched fists down on the machine. Southpaw shook it off, grabbing Canti and flinging him away like a baseball. Naota came in for another attack, Southpaw; however, had a different plan. Southpaw charged another orb, throwing it at the boy in a very similar fashion to an actual pitcher. The attack caught Naota in mid-jump, leaving him no room, or time, to act. The pitch connected, sending him into the bleachers. The bleachers buckled from the force, bending and twisting upon Naota's collision. A shot smacked Southpaw in the head, getting his attention. The MM bot turned, finding Iblis Trigger, his handguns poised in his direction. The machine stomped toward him, as he continued to relentlessly fire upon the machine. Southpaw tossed another attack in his direction, which Trigger easily leapt over and dodged; though Southpaw didn't expect it to hit. Trigger was easily caught off guard in mid-air, as Naota was. The MM bot bashed his smaller fist into Iblis, sending him to the ground with such force he bounced right back into the air. Southpaw acted quick, instantly pinning him to the ground with his right, as he lifted his left for a blow. Trigger had a card up his sleeve. In a blast of energy, Southpaw's entire right arm was blown off. The event even surprised Southpaw, who turned to the robot to find his chest cannon wide open. In a fit of anger, the MM bot rose his fist again. Trigger braced himself; however, another attack exploded into the back of the MM bot, knocking it to the ground. Haruko stood, her Rickenbacker in its shotgun pose and her Vespa beside her. Southpaw was enraged, tired of this futile battle. The MM bot rolled out another attack, throwing it with all its might. Haruko gripped her guitar, smacking the orb head-on. What the alien woman did not expect; however, was it exploding upon contact. The blast sent Haruko to the ground, leaving her defenseless. Southpaw stormed towards her, lifting his mighty fist to end her life. Naota rose his V just in time to block the attack. The power struggle began, Southpaw's might verses Naota's Flying V. The young guitarist found Southpaw's strength overwhelming, his legs buckling, the guitarist fell to his knees. Luckily, a sudden power surged through his body, the sign of Atomsk appearing on his forehead. Naota easily forced the robot off, sending him crashing into what was left of the dugout. Naota ran towards him, bring his guitar high. Southpaw's four eyes locked on the boy, rage filling every crevice of his mechanical body. The machine rolled out another attack, throwing towards Naota with amazing force. Naota rose his guitar.

POW!

Naota watched, his guitar landing far from his reach, as Southpaw rolled out another attack. Naota stood wide eyed.

"Tasku..." were the only words he managed to choke out.

"Naota!" a voice called from beside him.

Mamimi ran towards him, flinging him Tasku's bat. Southpaw threw the orb, the attack flying at Naota with great velocity. Naota caught the bat, swinging with every bit of his might.

The two stood, the batter and the pitcher. A huge hole in the torso of the once un-beatable Southpaw. Naota rested his bat over his shoulders.

"I want to thank you for making this day necessary," Naota stated simply, cracking his neck.

Southpaw collapsed into the ground, smoke rising from his remains.

Mamimi watched, the boy standing triumphedly over his fallen opponent, "He really does... swing just like his brother..."

**Ride on Shooting Star**

Orange no slide utusu sora

Sponge no pride burasagete

Spider

Iki touta sono yakan wa

kakusanaku tatte ii'n da

Iro no tsuita yume mitai na

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

Grunge no hamster otona bite

Revenge no logster hiki tsurete

Sniper

fuchi dotta sono sekai ni

nani ga mier'ute iiunda nerau mae ni

sawaritai na

Ride on shooting star

kimi wo sagashite kindan shojoujju

uso wo tsuita

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

**Episode Trivia:**

1.) Has the my favorite title out of all the chapters.

2.) Naota's opening thoughts mirror Mamimi's first words in the original FLCL.

3.) Naota calls a fellow teammate a "switch hitter", this is baseball termology for someone who can pitch or bat with both hands, and is also slang for someone who is bisexual in orientation.

4.) Haruko spanking Naota upon entering the dugout is a common practice in baseball. Not sure why...

5.) When Haruko is "feeling up" Naota, one of the teammates comments with: "He's running for home", this is an allusion to the sexual Baseball Metaphor. Home base being sexual intercourse.

6.) Kamon asks Haruko if she'd "like a tour of first base", this is a reference to the Baseball Metaphor as well, commonly representing french kissing. He then asks if they should "skip to third", third base being considered oral sex, his flicking his tongue between Haruko's fingers also alludes to this.

7.) "Most cats don't get as fat as you until they're fixed," alludes to the fact that many cats gain a large amount of weight very quickly only a while after they're fixed. My cat Mulan (Yeah, like the Disney movie of the same name) gained two pounds within the week after she was fixed. Same happened to my grandma's tomcat, Tommy.

8.) When Mamimi begins to say Naota's brother's name, she says "Tasku-sen-". She was going to say "Tasku-senpi". She referred to him as such during episode five of FLCL, Brittle Bullet.

9.) Mamimi's discovery of Ta-kun the cat, at first, leads you to believe she's referring to Naota.

10.) The white, female cat that Ta-kun appears with is actually the same cat he is shown with in the final episode, FLCLimax, of FLCL, while Amarao speaks to Naota on the subject of Haruko and Atomsk.

11.) Ta-kun's family is named by Mamimi using her and Naota's name with different Japanese suffixes: Mimi-chan and Sameji-chan with Mamimi's full name, and Nao-kun with Naota's name.

12.) Naota says that Tasku's last game was against the Montreal Expos, a now defunct baseball team as of 2004. (In episode six of FLCL, Mamimi has a planner book which is open to December 3, which falls on a Monday; likely alluding to the fact FLCL takes place in 2001. Therefore, since FLCL: 2nd takes place three years later, Tasku's final game took place in 2002.)

13.) As in episode three of FLCL, Naota and Ninamori transfer N.O. upon head-to-head contact.

14.) The episode pays host to a number of different Yogiisms. (Famous quotes by the Hall-of-Famer of the New York Yankees, Yogi Berra; which were somewhat paradoxus or amusing speech errors, which applied to Yogi's odd sense of humor.) The ones used in this episode include: "It's like déjà vu all over again", "It gets late early out here", and "I want to thank you for making this day necessary".

15.) The publish date of this chapter, 6/29/07, marks the one year anniversary of FLCL: 2nd's publishment, 6/29/06. (Dont worry, the next chapters will all be finished in a _much_ shorter amount of time.)


	8. The Gainax Street Irregulars

**The Gainax Street Irregulars**

_'You know, I didn't like Trigger much; not at first. I think it might of had something to with him being sent to kill me. But, he has helped us out on occasion, and he's a very skilled fighter. And he and Canti seem to get along well. Maybe, Trigger is a real asset to us. I wouldn't mind have a few more robots to back us up... Heh, like that'll ever happen... Geez, my head! Usually, I get a headache when ever I get a horn, but I don't have any... Who knows, maybe it's just stress or something...'_

"No, no, no!" Haruko screamed, "Don't put it there, put it over there!"

Canti and Trigger shot a glare at the alien woman, struggling to hold the living room's _impossibly_ heavy futon.

"Don't look at me like that! Just do what I tell ya' the first time I tell ya' to do it, and there wont be a problem, got it?" Haruko sneered, crossing her arms.

Naota stepped into the living room doorway, a simple, red, rubber hot water bottle on his head. The guitarist found the room in utter chaos. Everything was rearranged, the loveseat had been moved to the left corner, along with the only end table and the reading lamp. The coffee table was slanted, facing the TV from the right side at an angle; while the chair was on the left and facing the TV at an angle. Mamimi was moving throughout the room, vacuuming. Ta-kun's family, as well as the cat himself, were all latched on to Canti's jacket, adding to the confusion. Haruko sat upon the TV, barking orders. Ninamori stood on a step stool, dusting the shelves and ceiling of the room. Naota swallowed his fear, stepping further in the room.

"What are you up to now!?" Naota called, over the noise of the vacuum.

Haruko grinned, "Giving this room a little 'feng shui'."

"_Way_ feng shui," Eri said, as she walked past the boy and towards the kitchen.

Naota turned, noticing his father sleeping on the couch, "Do you have _any_ idea of the chaos you're causing?"

Haruko scoffed, "Ha! 'Chaos'. Let me tell you something, Ta-kun, _everything_ is chaos. It's a primal instinct for all humans to cause chaos. Think about it. Government? Chaos. Economy? Chaos-"

"Pink haired alien women who rides into your town one day with a Vespa and a guitar?" Naota said, sarcastically.

"Chaos!" Haruko grinned.

Naota shook his head in exasperation.

THUMP!

The two turned, finding that Canti had dropped his end of the couch, causing Trigger to drop his directly on his feet. Canti gave his fellow MM bot an innocent shrug. Trigger pulled his foot from under the futon, examining it for damages. Kamon didn't even budge.

"Wait!" Haruko shouted, as if she had a epiphany, "That's perfect! Leave the couch there!"

Naota looked, finding the futon behind the coffee table, facing the TV at an angle like the table. He shrugged, beginning to walk off. Haruko grabbed around the waist, pulling the rubber hot water bottle of his head, before Naota even had a chance to resist.

Haruko frowned as she found out he had no horns, "Aww... No fooly cooly?"

Naota escaped her grip, taking the pack from her hand and pulling it back onto his head, "'Fraid not, just a real bad headache."

"Well, that's no fun..." Haruko sighed, attempting to make her cutest, most innocent frown.

"If you mean: 'less trouble for us and for the town', then yes," Naota said, sternly, walking out of the room.

Haruko crossed her arms, watching Naota with one, open eye as he walked off, "Somehow, I doubt that..."

"What's our new objective, Commander?" Kitsurubami asked, sitting at her post, at headquarters.

"To _observe_," Amarao scoffed, watching the huge monitor intently; which showed Naota walking into Mabase Drug.

The lieutenant sighed, nonchalantly.

'_Unbelievable,'_ Kitsurubami thought, _'the once proud 'Interstellar Immigration' reduced to simple sentries. At what point did the, supposively, _noble_ human race, become mere servants to a bunch of gear grinding robots?'_

"Lieutenant," Amarao began.

Kitsurubami pulled herself from her thoughts, "Yes, Commander?"

"I'm going to take care of some business," he said, pulling on a pair of goggles.

Naota repositioned his hot water bottle on his head, as he walked down the side walk. He was heading back from the drug store, on his way home. The guitarist read the aspirin bottle inscription: one or two tablets every three to four hours up to six times a day. Naota frowned.

"Screw that," Naota scoffed, twisting off the child-proof cap and swallowing a handful.

"You know, an overdose of that _can_ cause nausea, vomiting, hypothermia, hallucinations, metabolic acidosis, and cardiopulmonary arrest..." Amarao warned, riding his red Fuji Rabbit at walking speed beside Naota.

"You don't even know what half of those are," he said, dismissively.

Amarao huffed.

"What do you want?" Naota asked, continuing on his way.

"I just thought you should know," the commander began, "She isn't here to protect you..."

"Yeah, like I'm gonna listen to you," Naota laughed to himself.

Amarao revved up his Rabbit, "Oh, don't listen to me, listen to that voice of warning in the back of your brainless head..."

And with that, the commander road off, disappearing down a nearby alley. Naota stopped to think...

Naota shrugged it off, "He's just trying to mess with my head. Speaking of which..."

_'Dammit! If this is how a _normal_ headache feels, I'd rather have a robot climb out!'_ Naota screamed to himself, as he writhed, his head lying on Mamimi's lap as he laid upon the couch.

"Geez," Mamimi sighed, "this must be some headache..."

"You have no idea!" Naota said, or at least, he would have said; his words only came out as a painful "Ahhh!"

Haruko stood from the loveseat, walking over to the screaming boy with clenched fists, "My god! What the hell's wrong with you?!"

Haruko grabbed Naota's hot water bottle and began to pull. Naota held the bottle on as tightly as he could with his agonizing migraine.

Ninamori, sitting on the chair beside them, frowned, worriedly.

"Oh, no!" Haruko shouted, pulling on the bottle, "There's something messed up in your head and we're gonna' find it!"

Haruko tore the bottle away from his head, her, Ninamori, and Mamimi gasped at the sight. Sticking straight out of Naota's noggin, was, what looked like, a bike handle.

The three girls stood over Naota, staring at it, thoughtfully.

Eri rose an eyebrow, "Is that... a bike handle?"

Haruko wrapped her hand around it, "I guess so..."

The alien gave it a firm tug; to her surprise, the handle moved.

Haruko's eye twinkled.

"Sameji, Eri, hold Naota," Haruko commanded.

The two girl sat Naota up, holding him against the couch.

"What the hell?!" Naota shouted.

"Don't worry, we're gonna make you all better," Haruko assured.

She whistled, "Canti! Trigger! Come in here!"

The two MM bots stepped into the room, Haruko calling them over. The salmon haired woman motioned the two to grab onto her shoulders, they did so. Haruko braced herself, putting her foot on the couch.

Naota quickly realized what they were going to do, "Oh, no..." he pleaded.

"This 'll only hurt for a moment," Haruko smiled.

Naota tensed.

"Pull!" Haruko screamed.

The pain hit Naota like a falling brick. Haruko, Canti, and Trigger pulled mercilessly on the handle, as Mamimi and Ninamori struggled to hold him still. The boy began to mentally kick himself, the immeasurable pressure on his cranium driving him to the brink of insanity.

"Hey," Haruko grinned, "it's coming out!"

"Ahh! Not so rough!" Naota screamed, clutching his aching head.

"Almost... Hey!" Haruko's grip slipped off the handle, sending her and the robots to the floor, and sending Naota and the girls into the back of the couch.

Haruko cursed, "Damn!"

Naota sighed heavily, "Crap..."

Naota's eyes widened. With a scream, a huge pile of scrap metal and garbage gushed out of his head, covering Haruko, Canti, and Trigger in junk. The last bit of trash popped out of the guitarist's noggin; the garbage hitting Haruko in the forehead, as she popped out of the trash heap. Canti and Trigger popped up beside her.

Mamimi and Eri examined Naota, finding his eyes had rolled back into his head.

The violet haired girl shook him, "Naota?"

Naota came to, his blue eyes rolling back into sight, "Wha?"

Ninamori and Mamimi let out a sigh of relief.

Naota shook off the daze, "What happened...?"

Mamimi turned to the pile of trash on the living room floor, "A lot of crap came out of your head..."

The boy looked down upon the pile, Haruko, Canti, and Trigger still sitting in it.

"Why are you sitting in that?" Naota quizzed, cocking an eyebrow.

Haruko crossed her arms with a huff, "You came all over us!"

Mamimi got down on her knees, looking over the contents of the pile, "Where'd all this stuff come from?"

"Medical Mechanica probably," Eri deduced, standing up.

"Great," Naota sighed, "now they're using my head for garbage disposal..."

Canti began rummaging through the scrap metal, as Trigger stood up.

"Uhh, Trigger? You've got something on your shoulder," Mamimi pointed out.

The MM bot turned his triangular head, his single red eye locking with another. Trigger freaked out, jumping to and fro across the room, trying to escape the alien object attached to his shoulder. Mamimi leapt into action, puling the thing from Trigger's shoulder. The small machine squirmed in her arms, unwilling to stay still. It had a simple, yet odd, design. It was little more then a semi-retro, silver toaster, with rounded edges on top, a single red eye on its front's right side, four, small, stand-like feet at each corner of its form, and a tail-like power cord out its back side.

However, as everyone's focus was on the odd little bot, Canti failed to notice the pair of blue eyes staring at him from the trash under him. In a white flash, the second alien creature burst from the junk pile, landing off to the side of the room. The MM bot was tall and slim, he stood a little higher than Canti, but was built much thinner. His material was dominantly white, with some yellow and sky blue details. His legs were identical to Canti's in design, as were his hands and arms, abet skinnier. His waist was thin, and his torso was slightly thicker. The robot's head, however, was different from Canti or Trigger's. His head was rather simple, with a metal "mask" sort of face. It lacked in any facial features save its two, slanted, blue eyes. The white robot tilted his head, as if smirking. As if out of nowhere, two chainsaw blades replaced his hands as they disappeared into his forearms. The robot crossed the chainsaws over his chest. The chainsaws began to spin. The room gasped. The MM bot lunged!

BAM!

The room gave an ironic "heh", surprised by the turn of events. The white robot lie on the floor, after, apparently, tripping over itself, it had broken its head component.

"That was..." Naota sighed.

"Kinda' stupid really..." Mamimi frowned, the toaster bot in her arms even stopping to observe the situation.

Eri stood over the fall robot, he hand over her mouth as she thought, "Looks like it's out cold..."

Haruko kicked the side of its head lightly, "Looks _dead_ to me..."

Naota looked down at the robot, "Can robots technically _be_ dead?"

Canti and Trigger shoved their way through the four, as they looked down at the broken robot. The two looked each other with a nod. Trigger hoisted the MM bot up on his shoulder, making his way towards the garage. Canti grabbed the toaster bot from Mamimi's grasp, as he followed Iblis.

"What do you think they'll do with them?" Mamimi thought, aloud.

"Looks like that trash heap and those robots that came out of your head weren't the only things..." Haruko observed, looking down upon Naota's new, drill-like horn, as he sat at the kitchen table.

"Showed up right after that little episode..." Naota huffed.

"What are you gonna' do about it?" Haruko quizzed.

"Push it back in and wear a hat, as always," the guitarist stated, simply.

"Hah!" the alien woman laughed, "You're not pushing this one in."

Haruko poked the drill's tip with her finger, "It's _way_ to sharp."

Naota stood up in a flash, "Whatever," he said, rushing to the kitchen counter and grabbing a cook book. Naota held it up, showing Haruko, before placing it over the drill horn and pulling downwards. To Naota's credit, the horn began to recede into his noggin.

"See," Naota began, "it's as simple as-"

The drill suddenly began to spin, drilling straight through the cook book and fully standing out of Naota's head again; causing the young boy an amount of ball-busting pain in the process.

A drop of drool dripped from the corner of his mouth, as he blacked out for a moment from the intensity of the pain. Haruko snapped her fingers, bringing the boy back into reality.

"You were saying?" Haruko smirked.

"W-what should I do?" Naota asked, "I can't go out with this thing..."

Haruko stuck her face in his, with a big grin, "Simple, wear this."

The alien woman pulled a red party hat, virtually, out of nowhere. Haruko pulled the cone shaped hat over the horn, pulling the band over Naota's head with a snap. Haruko took a step back, admiring her brilliant idea.

"Dead sexy, Ta-kun, chicks _dig_ the six year old's party look," she cracked, with a smile.

Naota pouted, half heartedly, "Do you _enjoy_ tormenting me, Haruko?"

She smiled, cutely, her finger to her bottom lip and her hips rocking back and forth slightly, "It's my one and only pleasure, Ta-kun..."

"Naota-san! Haru-san!" Mamimi called, running into the kitchen, "Come quick! Canti and Trigger are doing something in the garage!"

The three entered the Nandaba garage, where Ninamori stood waiting, surprised by what they found. Canti and Trigger had made it into a makeshift laboratory. It was like something straight out of Merry Shelly; a test tube set here, a lightning rod there.

"Nice," Naota sighed, sarcastically, "very 'mad scientist', guys..."

Canti and Trigger stood side-by-side in front of the garage work table– which never saw very much action– as if they were hiding something.

Mamimi spoke up, "You have something to show us?" she quizzed.

Canti and Trigger nodded simultaneously.

"Well," Haruko said, as if she was in a hurry, "what is it?"

The two MM bots turned to one another, give each other a reassuring nod. The two stepped aside, revealing the toaster bot and the thin, white robot.

Naota and Haruko immediately, almost automatically, got into battle position. Canti rose his hand before the two, calming them down. Trigger reached behind the head of the white robot, connecting a final incomplete circuit. The robot sprang to life, instantly standing. Trigger moved over to the toaster, giving it a simple flick of the finger. The toaster bot sparked with life, its red eye beginning to glow.

Mamimi walked up to the small robot, sticking her face in its. To the redhead's surprise, the MM bot twitched and began wagging its power chord tail.

Mamimi instantly snatched it from the table, hugging it tightly to her chest, "Aww, it's like a doggy!"

Haruko leaned over to Naota with a whisper, "You see many toaster-shaped dogs these days?"

Naota sighed, "Let her dream..."

Eri walked up to the white robot, her finger to her chin, "And you?"

The robot everted its gaze to the side.

Ninamori turned to the young guitarist with a grin, "Looks like we got two new companions."

Naota looked over to the toaster in Mamimi's arms, "Maybe one and a forth."

The toaster bot glared its single eye at him.

"Fine, one and a half..." Naota reasoned.

Ninamori thought, "Shouldn't we name them?"

"Good idea," Haruko agreed, walking up to the white robot; who crossed his arms and stared cooly down at the alien woman.

"Chainsaw," Haruko dubbed the MM bot.

The robot nodded, flipping out his chainsaw, giving it a spin.

Mamimi looked down to the small toaster bot in her arms, "And we'll name you Toasty."

The newly named Toasty rattled with glee.

Naota huffed, grinning slightly, "Just what we need, _more_ robots..."

"A mishap?! At Medical Mechanica?!" Kitsurubami coughed, choking on her softdrink.

Amarao ran his open palm down his face, with a heavy sigh, "Yeah, apparently, Medical Mechanica accidently confused Naota's N.O. channel with the garbage ben..."

The lieutenant was nearly compelled to pick up her laptop and smash it over her superior's eyebrowed forehead. The young woman restrained herself, however, choosing instead to bite her lower lip.

"You mean to tell me that the enemy has just gained two new allies, because of a slip up by _our_ superiors?" the blonde woman asked, as calmly as she could.

The redheaded commander looked up at the screen, the picture of the four, former, MM bots: Canti, Trigger, Chainsaw, and Toasty. The picture was courtesy of the bug he had planted on Naota's hoody on his way out of Mabase Drug.

Amarao thought aloud, his hand to his chin, "More like one and a forth..."

The lieutenant managed to compose herself, "What is Medical Mechanica planning on doing about it?"

"They've already sent something to rectify their mishap..." Amarao explained, staring up at the screen.

Naota adjusted the party hat over his horn, so it sat more comfortably on his noggin. Naota looked at himself in the mirror, disappointed beyond _all_ belief. The boy sighed, pulling open his desk drawer and grabbing a pair of sunglasses. Naota slipped them on, striking his best "How you doin'?" poses; to no avail. Naota dropped the glasses carelessly back into the drawer. He could see it now: Mother and her child walking down the street, "Mommy?" the little boy says, "Is it that boy's birthday?", the mother goes "No, he's just an immature little punk who's being a smart ass." Naota huffed, heading out his room and down the stairs.

The young guitarist entered the living room, stopping where Haruko stood leaning against the doorway. The salmon haired woman stood staring at the four robots, sitting around a poker table in the corner of the room. Canti sat in front of Trigger and Chainsaw in front of Toasty, respectively. The "Lord of Black Flame" adorned a poker visor, as well as a lit cigar (though it didn't seem to be going anywhere). The the four robots sat looking carefully over the contents of their respective hands. Canti had a Full House, three fives and two sevens. Canti shifted his head slightly to Chainsaw, and then slightly to Toasty. Canti decided to make his move, pushing his chip pile into the pot in the middle of the table. Trigger nodded, raising the bet by pushing his entire pile into the pot. Chainsaw did the same, willing to take the risk. Toasty pushed what few chips he had into the pot, enticing a silent chuckle from Chainsaw at the small robots futile efforts. The bets were placed and the four robots began revealing their hands. Trigger had managed a Three of a Kind, three sixes, a two and a eight. Chainsaw, however, had managed the most impressive hand, a Four of a Kind consisting of four nines and a ace. Canti shrugged, while Trigger tossed his hand nonchalantly onto the table in defeat. Chainsaw reached his long arms around the pot, before Toasty's small front legs stopped him. The small robot ejected his hand from his back, landing on the table in perfect formation. Toasty had acquired a Royal Flush. Chainsaw slumped back into his chair in amazement, as Toasty wrapped his power chord tail around the pot, and pulling it in. The white robot slammed his fist down onto the table, flipping out and revving up one of his chainsaws as he began to lunge towards the appliance. Canti and Trigger stood, doing their best to restrain him; as well as avoid losing a limb.

Naota chuckled at the events.

"The 'Gainax Street Irregulars'..." Haruko proclaimed, her arms crossed.

"Huh?" Naota asked, not quite hearing her.

"That's what the local kids have been calling them," Haruko recalled.

"Gainax? Oh, my street," Naota thought, aloud.

The alien woman nodded, "And 'irregulars' because-"

The two shifted their eyes toward the robots, still struggling to hold Chainsaw back, while Toasty rubbed his victory in his face.

"Well," Haruko giggled, "you get the idea."

"What do you say we go out to calibrate?!" Mamimi asked, with glee; virtually, popping out of nowhere (startling Naota).

"Sounds like a great idea!" Ninamori shouted, popping up beside Mamimi (and nearly giving Naota a heart attack).

Haruko flipped around, calling to the four MM bots, "Who wants to go out?!"

The four stopped, instantly raising their hands; well, Toasty managed to raise one of his stubby legs.

"Why didn't we go with Mamimi, Ninamori, and the others?!" Naota asked, shouting over the wind passing by Haruko and him; as they both rode her scooter at her average breakneck speeds.

"Because," Haruko answered simply, as if that response could truly be considered an answer.

Naota decided not to press the matter, as he wouldn't get anywhere anyway. The boy shivered, pressing his face into the back of Haruko's scarf. Even in the middle of Summer, with the way Haruko drove, it felt like October again. Haruko deemed him to big to ride on the floor in front of her, allowing Naota to sit behind her. As long as Naota, in Haruko's words, "Kept his entry plug in its EVA". Whatever that meant...

Naota's grip around Haruko's waist tightened, enticing a gasp of surprise from her.

The salmon haired woman turned, "Frisky, are we?"

Haruko found herself staring into the young boy's lifeless, white eyes.

She gasped, "Uh, oh!"

The force of the presence banging around in Naota's skull sent the boy flying off the Vespa. Haruko lost control, swerving off the road and straight into a telephone pull. The impact threw her from her bike, as well as throwing her Rickenbacker into the sky. Haruko twisted in mid-air, managing to land gracefully upon the pavement. Haruko rose her hand, her bass landing in it. The alien woman pulled the pull start, bring the guitar to life. Haruko struck her battle pose.

Naota landed, head first, on the concrete. The horn instantly began drilling upon contact, leaving Naota in whirling agony. The horn began to drill deeper, leaving Naota's head stuck above surface, as the horn continued drilling through the ground. Finally, the full robot emerged from Naota's head and straight into the ground, taking the young guitarist with it.

"Damn," Haruko cursed, scanning the area for the machine.

The ground began to rumble. Haruko turned, the MM bot bursting from the ground behind her. The machine rose to full height, allowing Haruko a good look at it. The robot was long and worm-like. Its drill had increased in size, its diameter around its base at least eight feet; with its body about the same. Its body was at least fifty feet long, with each section of its body resembling a semi-triangular circle. Each foot and a half long section with three sharp spikes, which were also able to rotate (likely aiding in its tunneling capabilities). Around its drill were four, large, red eyes.

The robot rose high into the sky, angling its head down at the stunned Haruko.

Her eyes widened.

The robot brought its immense weight down upon the woman.

Mamimi nearly fell to the ground from the tremor, luckily, Canti caught her mid-fall. She, Canti, Ninamori, Trigger, Chainsaw, and Toasty all stood waiting in front of the Café Bleu. Eri shifter her gaze towards the center of Mabase.

"That's doesn't sound to good..." she said, worriedly.

"Well, I don't know what it could be," Mamimi said, dismissively.

The two girls gasped in unison, "Naota's horn!"

Haruko had barely managed to dodge the MM bot's body slam, diving off to the side just in time; however, the robot's onslaught was finished yet. The machine immediately began thrashing around like a fish out of water. Haruko managed to hope to her feet and avoid one of the machine's flailing body sections. If there was one thing Haruko knew, it's that she didn't want to be skewered by one of those spikes. The alien woman landed on the top of a nearby building, far out of the robot's thrashing range. As the MM bot realized she was out of reach, it hastily abandoned its previous plan of attack and began borrowing into the ground, drill first. Haruko watched in surprise, as well as irony, as the tail of the machine waged wildly in the air; Naota's head still stuck to the robot. One sudden swing, however, sent Naota flying off the machine's tail and crashing through a nearby office building. The guitarist landed with a heavy "thud" against the office room wall, barely missing a secretary who was _way_ to underpaid to be dealing with this kind of crap. Haruko leapt into the building, just as the machine had completely buried itself.

Haruko came to Naota's side, "Ta-kun? Ta-kun!?"

Naota didn't respond, his eyes dead white. He was out cold.

Haruko laid him back down, turning back towards the broken window with clenched fists, "You hurt Ta-kun, you're gonna pay!"

Haruko dived recklessly out of the window, her guitar raised high. Just as she did so, the robot reemerged. The MM bot brought its drill spinning wildly, straight towards Haruko. She blocked the attack, using her guitar as a shield. The robot didn't give up, however, pushing her straight into the brick wall of a nearby building. Haruko collided with the wall, the force of the machine pushing its drill against her guitar caused her to create an impression in the stone. Haruko found herself between a rock and a hard place, quite literally. She had to think fast. The alien had an idea. Haruko slipped her guitar to the side, causing the robots drill to slide off it and ram itself right into the building. Haruko jumped away from the building, acting quickly and firing a volley of shotgun blasts directly to its head. The super-dense material of the MM bot easily resisted the assault. The robot countered, smacking Haruko to the ground with a quick lash of its tail. She hit the ground hard, leaving her momentary paralyzed from the impact. That moment, however, as all the MM bot needed. The robot rose its drill, poising it down on the defenseless alien. The robot dove its drill upon the woman.

The robot was thrown into the side of a building, the whole edifice collapsing upon it.

Canti landed by Haruko, picking her up and leaping out of harms way. Canti laid Haruko down before Mamimi and Eri, who quickly carried her off to safety.

Canti turned towards the MM bot, he wasn't to adept in naming, but if there was any logical name for this robot, then it could only be, 'Tremor...'

Trigger zoomed past Canti, brandishing his twin handguns from their holsters and aiming them straight at the bewildered Tremor. Iblis fired, blasting the downed machine with multiple shots. Tremor shook off the blows, eyeing the charging MM bot. The robot brought his tail down over Trigger. He was able to see the attack in time, quickly sidestepping the attacking and firing another shot right into Termor's face. The robot thought quick, swing its tail to the side and smacking Trigger straight through a brick wall. Tremor poised its drill towards the downed machine. The worm-like robot threw itself at Trigger. Canti acted fast, grabbing the front bumper of a nearby Suzuki. He intended to pull of the bumper a toss it at the attacking machine, instead he ended up flinging the whole car at it. The Suzuki smacked Tremor in the head, knocking it to the ground. Canti shifted his gaze to the side, the Suzuki's stunned owner standing on the side walk beside him, his jaw dropped. Tremor rose, throwing the vehicle a whole seven blocks down the road. The shocked owner pressed the lock on his car keys, the Suzuki giving a honk compliantly, moments before crashing into the side of a building and exploding in a fiery blaze. Canti rubbed the back of his head, apologetically. Trigger suddenly came running like a bat out of hell past him. Canti watched him go by, before turning around. The robot tensed, the rejuvenated Tremor flopping down the street, its drill spinning wildly. Canti took off running, dashing his way down the street alongside Trigger.

Chainsaw watched from the roof of a tall building, watching as Tremor flailed its way down the boulevard. The sun gleamed off the robot's newly acquired sunglasses. Toasty perched himself on Chainsaw's right shoulder. The white robot turned his head to Toasty, who gave a reassuring nod. Without warning, the robot dove off the rooftop, whipping out his chainsaws and crossing his arms stylistically, as he fell towards the approaching Tremor. Toasty held onto Chainsaw's shoulder plate for dear life. The MM bot slammed Tremor's head into the pavement upon impact. Chainsaw revved his chainsaws as if he were some robotic Leatherface. The white robot drove his blades straight into one of Tremor's robotic eyes. Sparks flew from the optic lense as Chainsaw attempted to break through the dense material. Tremor quickly realized what Chainsaw was planning on doing, and began to thrash his body around violently, in an attempt to throw the robot from its head. Chainsaw lost his footing, slipping off the serpentine machine. The robot was thrown to the ground, rolling down the street upon impact.. Toasty, however, jumped off of Chainsaw's shoulder just moments before. The appliance bot whipped the robots electronic eye with his power chord, hitting it with just enough force (added with the strain from Chainsaw's attack) to crack the lense.

The crack in Tremor's eye spidered out, engulfing the entirety of its eye.

Tremor became furious, bringing his whole head into the air and slamming it back down into the pavement. Its action didn't only throw Toasty into the air, however, but also caused an entire slab of pavement to rise and fling the fleeing Canti and Trigger back towards the thrashing machine. Canti acted swiftly as he flew through the air, grabbing Toasty. The three landed gracefully far behind Tremor. Chainsaw came up behind them, joining his robotic brethren.

Tremor turned around, diving into the ground. He was ready to end this fight here and now. As the robot charged the four, Canti flipped around, pulling his teammates into a huddle. The four calmly discussed their plan of attack, as if the threat of the charging MM bot was nonexistent. Four gave a nod, turning defiantly to the machine. Trigger grabbed his tri-tipped shuriken from his back. Trigger held the shuriken steady, as Canti shoved Toasty into the ring in the middle of the propeller. The robot devil threw the weapon with all his might, hitting its mark and becoming lodged in Tremor's damaged eye. Toasty popped out of the ring and slid down into the open wound. The worm-like machine stopped its onslaught, flailing wildly, as Toasty began rewiring the MM bot. Fooling with its controls and breaking its fuses, the small robot was able to disable the movement of Tremor's upper mid-section. Trigger grabbed Canti and Chainsaw by the back, throwing them with amazing velocity towards the robot's falling head. The two collided, causing the head to fly back towards its own body. Toasty acted quick, reconnecting the necessary wires to cause Tremor's drill to activate. The robot could only do his best to resist, as Canti and Chainsaw held their ground. To Canti and Chainsaw's chagrin, their weight wasn't quite enough to drive its drill down all the way. A shadow fell over the two. They looked to the sky. Trigger came crashing down between them, driving Tremor's drill straight through its core. The three leapt out of harms way. The three landed. Trigger rose his hand, his shuriken landing in his grasp; while Canti held out his hand, Toasty landing in his palm without so much as a scratch. The four struck a pose akin to Power Rangers, just as the once proud Tremor burst in a hell blaze of fire and twisted metal.

"Wow," was all Naota could exclaim, upon hearing of the battle against Tremor, "You guys took him out all by yourselves?"

Trigger, who sat on the loveseat, Canti and Toasty who sat on the couch beside Naota and Ninamori, and Chainsaw, who sat on the arm of the couch beside Naota, his arms crossed cooly and his sunglasses gleaming, all nodded.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Mamimi grinned, leaning on the back of the couch over Naota.

Haruko sat up slightly from her seat in the chair, "Hey, checkout the news..."

The eight– maybe seven and a forth– residents of the Nandaba household stared intently at the TV.

"_In a shocking turn of events," the reporter lady began, the carnage of Tremor in her wake, "four unidentified, but reportedly, robotic heroes, defeated the large machine that can be seen in the foreground. The four left no clues to their residence, nor their ambitions; however they did leave a single mark of their presence."_

The camera panned to the side, revealing a stylized signature etched into the wall with well placed punches, cuts, and gunshots. There was only four, simple words: "The Gainax Street Irregulars".

The four robots grinned at the sight, that is, if robots _could_ grin...

**Ride on Shooting Star**

Orange no slide utusu sora

Sponge no pride burasagete

Spider

Iki touta sono yakan wa

kakusanaku tatte ii'n da

Iro no tsuita yume mitai na

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

Grunge no hamster otona bite

Revenge no logster hiki tsurete

Sniper

fuchi dotta sono sekai ni

nani ga mier'ute iiunda nerau mae ni

sawaritai na

Ride on shooting star

kimi wo sagashite kindan shojoujju

uso wo tsuita

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

**Episode Trivia:**

1.) The title is an obvious pun on the Baker Street Irregulars from the Sherlock Holmes stories.

2.) Haruko mentions "feng shui" (Pronounced "Fung shway"), a Chinese belief in balance of elements in decoration.

3.) Naota enters a drug store called "Mabase Drug", this is a reference to a, somewhat, infamous mid-west tourist attraction known as "Wall Drug". Starting out as a simple drug store in the town of Wall, if eventually grew into a random attraction mini-town. With things ranging from a western town replica to dinosaur statues. It's, somewhat, of an annoyance, as thousands of signs line the sides of the highway as you drive through the mid-west.

4.) Amarao drives a Fuji Rabbit, an extremely rare moped, rarer than Haruko's Vespa as a matter of fact, and appeared in the final episode of FLCL.

5.) The scene where the garbage comes out of Naota's head is semi-reminiscent of a male ejaculation. Haruko's response: "You came all over us!" alludes to this.

6.) The four reformed MM bots initials are TCTC, same as The Cooper Temple Clause band. It's merely a coincidence.

7.) Trigger's hand includes three sixes, a reference to 666 the Number of the Beast; alluding to Trigger's devil-like connections.

8.) This chapter reveals that the Nandaba household is located on Gainax Street; an obvious reference to the company that created FLCL, Gainax Company, Limited.

9.) Naota says that Haruko told him he could ride behind her if he "Kept his entry plug in its EVA." This is not only a reference to Neon Genesis Evangelion, but also a reference to an erection; which is typical when riding a motorized vehicle.

10.) Haruko's response to Naota's tightening grip is, none other, then Fat Bastard's infamous quote "Frisky, are we?" from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

11.) Tremor is the second guest machine from my future novel: Machine. Though, Tremor's dimensions are slightly altered.

12.) Trigger is referred to as "the robot devil" at one point, a subtle reference to the Robot Devil from Futurama (the "Robot Hell" episode was one of my favorites, because of the musical number).

13.) This point in the series on, the Gainax Street Irregulars will be a sort of entity that the entire town will come to know, acting, in a way, like a team of superheroes.


	9. Frostbite

**A/N:** Well, this chapter marks the half way point of the series. It's been a hell of a ride so far and we still have so much to see! I'd like to take a moment to address your complements and critisims. Thank you for your reviews and congrats. I'm happy to hear that my fic is held in such high regard around here. Thank you very much. Notably, I have problems with spelling and grammar. I've never been much a good speller and I rely on Spell Check for most things. However, I do all my typing, as of now, on a WordPerfect program; which is _far_ from "perfect". It makes it difficult, but I'm doing my best to fix what I can. On grammar, well, I have a problem with using too many commas. Sorry, otherwise, I'm still learning proper grammar techniques.

On the subject of FLCL: 2nd itself. I'll address a few things. Fender, Trigger, Chainsaw, and Toasty are the last of my OC's, save the individual MM bots (Except, possibly, one). Naota and friends still have a few more challenges to face. I'd like to talk about, abet briefly, the final three episodes of FLCL: 2nd. The final three will occur in immdiate succession, one right after the other (as opposed to the others were there's a one or two day break). And without further adieu, I present the ninth chapter: Frostbite. See you at the end of the series.

**Frostbite**

_'In the heat of battle, every move you make, everything you say, every breath you take can set in motion the events that will, eventually, lead into your imminent demise... Even more so as you lay upon the cold ground, waiting for the Grim Reaper to step forth and claim your un-godly soul, all your senses are heightened to an extreme degree. Every foot that crushes into the snow, you can hear. Every flake that lands on your back, you can feel. Every change of your surroundings you can see. Even the taste of your own sweat in your mouth you can distinctly distinguish. But you can't let those things get to you, you can't let a single thing come between you and your objective. What's your objective? Simple: defeat you enemy... Wait, where did she!?'_

"Ahhh! I'm hit! I'm hit! Eri, call for backup! Man down! Man down!" Naota screamed, as he flailed back and forth on the ground behind the mound of snow.

Ninamori cocked an eyebrow, readying another snowball, "Calm down," she reasoned, "it was only a snowball..."

Naota sat up, a few clumps of snow sliding of his face, "Yeah, but... it's cold..."

"I'd get down before you get hit again," the violet haired girl warned, flinging a snowball towards the enemy.

"Now, Eri," the boy began, "what are the odds of me getting hit a-" A glob of snow smashed into the side of Naota's head, throwing him to the ground.

Eri looked down at him, "See?"

Naota sat up, careful to take cover behind the mound this time, "Where the hell is Canti with our secret weapon?"

Right on cue, the MM bot slid to a stop beside the two, brandishing a heavy-duty snow blower. Toasty hopped up on Canti's shoulder, waging his power cord tail.

Naota gave the robot a pat on the back, "Good, now let's show these punks!"

The eight warriors sat, split in two, across the side of the river bed, covered in a think blanket of snow. All of them dressed appropriately for the cold weather, coats, boots, sweat pants, and all. Haruko ducked under a oncoming snowball.

"You missed me, you cockeyed lobotomy patients!" the alien woman taunted, enticing a giggle from her redheaded teammate.

"Sameji, ammo!" Haruko demanded.

"Yes, sir!" Mamimi complied, with a salute.

As Haruko tossed projectile after projectile over enemy lines, Trigger crawled in beside her holding an arm's full of snowballs. The robot situated himself, throwing snowballs twice the size of the norm.

Naota rolled out of the way of a supersized snowball, finally prepared to unleash his secret weapon. Naota stood over his mound.

"Canti!" the boy called.

The robot arose beside him, holding the snow blower at his side. Haruko and Mamimi rose an eyebrow at the sight. Naota lifted a arm's full of snow from their reserves, dropping it into the customized contraption. Canti turned on the blower, allowing it to spew pound upon pound of cold, wet snow towards the enemy camp. Haruko, Mamimi, and Trigger ducked, as the snow covered and buried them.

The alien woman popped her head out of the snow, followed by Mamimi and Trigger. Haruko cracked her neck.

"Chainsaw!" she called. The robot appeared, holding a large block of ice, cut right out of the frozen river. The robot place the block atop the mound, before whipping out his chainsaws. In a swift move, Chainsaw sliced off a chunk of ice and flung it at Naota's party, knocking Toasty of his Canti perch and into the snow behind. Naota and Ninamori turned to the small robot wiggling its little feet, while its head was stuck in the snow.

Naota turned to the opposing team, waving his fist, "Hey! Don't throw ice! What are you trying to do?! Hurt somebody?!"

"You never said ice was off limits!" Haruko argued, standing from her mound.

"I thought that was implied. Whoever heard of throwing _ice_ in a _snowball_ fight?!"

"Well, it's technically still snow, just tightly compacted snow,"

"That doesn't count and you know it!"

"Know what?"

"What?!"

Another chunk of solid ice smacked Naota in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"Ahh, _hell_ no!"

Amarao removed his pair of binoculars from his eyes, taking a sip from his coffée. The commander and lieutenant sat in a small, blue minivan; parked on the side of the bridge. The small vehicle was crammed with electronics, which dominated most of the back seat. Amarao sat in the driver's seat, wearing a heavy, black jacket; while Kitsurubami wore her fur hat and long, black jacket. She held her laptop on, appropriately, her lap. Amarao brought the binoculars back to his eyes, bring back into view the eight still flinging snowballs at each other.

"Cold weather we've been having, huh?" Amarao began, trying to come up with some small talk to liven up their stakeout.

Kitsurubami mentally sighed, "Yes, quite unusual, especially for the middle of Summer..."

"Ain't that the truth..." the commander shrugged, putting down the binoculars and easing back into his seat.

The lieutenant typed a few keys on her keyboard, "According to weather reports, this snowstorm is focused solely on Mabase; all places outside city limits are completely unaffected."

Amarao glanced over at her computer's screen, finding the clouds situated, almost, perfectly over Mabase. "Interesting..." the commander thought, scratching his chin.

"Do you think Medical Mechanica has anything to do with this?"

Amarao scoffed, looking out the window, "I wouldn't doubt it..."

"But why would they do something like this?"

The redheaded commander gazed up into the sky, now only a white abyss, from which thousands of snowflakes fluttered down from endlessly. "I don't know, but whatever they're planning, can't be good for us..."

The four humans laughed as they piled in the front door of the Nandaba household, the four former MM bots walking shortly behind them. Kamon was out hopelessly trying to sell him magazine to local gas stations and markets. His father being out, this left Naota and his friends to themselves. While the Gainax Street Irregulars headed for the living room, Naota and the girls headed towards the laundry room.

"Ahh! I'm freakin' freezing!" Haruko shouted, crossing her arms and rubbing them vigorously for warmth.

"We should probably get out of these clothes," Mamimi suggested, unzipping her coat and pulling it off.

"Good idea," Ninamori agreed, taking off her sweat pants.

Naota stood in the doorway, unable to evert his gaze from the sight of the three girls striping off their cold, wet clothes right in front of his eyes. By the time Haruko had slipped off her scarf and gloves, Ninamori had stripped down to her panties, and Mamimi had gotten to her undershirt, Haruko noticed the boy watching them.

"There's a viewing fee after the first minute," Haruko grinned, crossing her arms.

"Uh, wha?" Naota stuttered, snapping out of his daze.

"Naota-san!" Mamimi shouted.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Ninamori screamed, clumsily covering her panties with her hands.

Naota scratched the back of his head, straightening his posture and turning away. "I-I was, uh, j-just, umm..." the boy stuttered, a blush spreading across his nose.

"Get out of here!" the violet haired girl shouted, pushing him out the door and into the hall.

Naota stood in the hall, as the laundry room door slammed shut. He shrugged, "Guess I'll change in the bathroom..."

After they were all changed and warm, the three girls joined Naota and the robots in the living room. As they entered the room and sat down, Haruko on the loveseat and Mamimi and Eri on the couch next to him, Naota couldn't help but notice what they were wearing. Haruko wore a plain, white t-shirt and a pair of blue sweat shorts. Mamimi had on one of her dark blue sweaters and was wearing a pair of long, stocking-like socks. She wasn't wearing shorts of any kind; which would have left her white, cotton panties plainly visible, if the length of her sweater didn't hinter the view. Ninamori, to Naota's surprise, had on one of his blue hoodies and a pair of his red boxers. Whereas Naota wore a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

"Uh, Eri?" Naota began, cocking an eyebrow, "Why are you wearing my clothes?"

"Hmm?" Ninamori responded, peering down at her hoody and giving the collar a tug, "This?"

The violet haired girl began, twiddling her fingers, "Well, I didn't have any extra clothes. So, I thought I'd borrow some of your's... You don't mind, do you?"

Eri turned to him, smiling cutely.

"Uh... No, course not..." Naota blushed, everting his gaze.

"Uh, huh..." Mamimi grinned, nudging the boy with her elbow.

"Odd..." Haruko thought, gazing at the uniquely shaped snowstorm over Mabase on the TV screen.

"No, _really_ odd," the redhead corrected, "considering it's the middle of June!"

"You see weirder things 'round these parts..." Naota sighed, nestling himself into the couch.

"Yeah," Haruko agreed, "look at those guys!"

The four machines turned their heads from their Craps game (Toasty was the dealer), shooting the alien a glare.

Ninamori sighed, wrapping her arms around Naota's waist and nestling her head onto his shoulder. "Geez, Naota, it's colder in here than it is outside..." the young girl mumbled, hugging him tightly for warmth.

Naota's face began to turn beat red, "Well... it w-was set f-for c-cooling, so..."

"Mmmm," Eri cooed, nudging Naota's neck with her nose, "You're nice and warm, though..."

The young guitarist could only turn redder, as Mamimi and Haruko grinned at the sight of the two teens cuddled together. Naota couldn't bring himself to say "Get off" or any of its variations; nor did he want to discomfort Eri. So, Naota allowed her to snuggle into him, regardless of his peer's grins.

The sudden sound of Chainsaw standing up, flipping his chair, caught their attention. The MM bot threw his cards down on the table, whipping out and revving up his chainsaws, before lunging at the dealer, Toasty. Canti and Trigger stood, restraining the vengeful machine to the best of their abilities.

"Dammit, Chainsaw!" Haruko shouted, "You _know_ Craps is rigged in the dealer's favor!"

Within the dark depths of the Medical Mechanica factory, the three, sky blue monoliths stood around a single light shining from above.

"To think it wise to attack the enemy in such a fashion?" 02 asked.

"Yes, to you suppose it will work?" 03 enquired.

"It has become apparent that our previous methods of assault were ineffective. So, a change in attack is in order..."

"Very well..." 02 and 03 agreed in unison.

And with that, the three monoliths faded back into the dark.

The sudden stirring of Mamimi repositioning herself for comfort woke Naota from his light slumber upon the couch. Naota sat up, failing to notice he had his head resting on Mamimi's lap, and rubbed his eyes drearily. He glanced up at the clock over the TV, 6 o'clock; it would be getting dark soon.

The guitarist suddenly noticed.

"Wear's Ninamori?" he asked, to no one in particular.

"She went out for a walk..." Haruko responded, subconsciously, still sitting in her chair and flipping through the channels on the TV.

"Really?" Naota thought, "it's getting late, and the temperature is supposed to drop to -10 tonight..."

Naota turned, heading for the door and pulling on his hoody, "I'm going to go find her. If I'm not back by ten tonight, come look for me tomorrow; I'll be the meat popsicle..."

"Will do," Haruko responded with a flick of the wrist (her eyes still focused on the TV).

Naota headed out the door, into the fridged, evening air.

"Hope he bundled up, or he'll freeze his ass off out there..." Mamimi sighed, the whole Ta-kun family rolling around in her lap.

Within the secret compounds of Interstellar Immigration, Commander Amarao and his Lieutenant Kitsurubami stood. Before them the large screens, once more, showcasing the storm looming over Mabase.

"News from Medical Mechanica, sir?" the blonde lieutenant asked.

Amarao nodded, unsurely, "Yeah, something like that..."

"Well?"

The commander took a seat on one of his operative's desks, running his hand down his face with a heavy sigh. "They said: 'Mind your _own_ operations; this does not concern you'."

Kitsurubami bit her lip, hard, beating back the urge to scream. _'What?! You're telling me that they put us in charge of keeping order in this town when they mess up and don't even tell us what cracked up plan of action their taking next?! What the f-?!'_

"What do you suppose we do, Commander?" the lieutenant asked, composing herself.

"Nothing, for the time. There's nothing we _can_ do..." Amarao huffed, crossing his arms and looking to the ground.

Inside the lieutenant's mind her rage still burned strong, _'Motherf-!'_

As Naota trudged through the snow covering the sidewalks, which was now well over three feet high, he began to realize that he –in his own hometown– was becoming completely and inevitably lost. It wasn't that he was unfamiliar with this part of town (in fact, living in the same dreary place for fifteen years, he knew Mabase like the back of his hand), the problem was that the heavy fall of snow and the blindingly white surroundings greatly hindered Naota's view and left all landmarks indistinguishable. The streets were empty, save a few snow-buried cars and mailboxes. The windows of all nearby buildings were frozen over with frost and the snow covering the street was far to solidified to be pushed aside by the snowplows.

Eventually, Naota found himself at a dead end, a alleyway with no outlet.

The guitarist mentally smacked himself, _'How in the hell did I walk down some alley without even noticing...?'_

He threw his head into the air with a heavy sigh as he realized his feet and finger tips were going numb and he could barely feel them.

'_The cold sucks...'_

Naota turned around, beginning to exit the alleyway, when a sight caught his eye. The sudden flash of a purple, winter coat, with complementing yellow scarf.

Naota recognized it instantly, "Eri!"

Naota ran out into the street, turning to the left, the direction he saw her run. He called out to her, but the blustery winds blew his shouts away. Naota could only watch as his friend disappeared into the white abyss of the snowstorm.

He sighed, getting ready to begin chase, when a sound caught his ears. The unmistakable sound of ice freezing and cracking. Naota flipped around, terrified by the sight. Stomping towards him was a tall creature of about twelve feet. The snow left most of its traits in shadow, leaving Naota with only the monsterous silhouette of the creature.

As the yeti-like figure closed the gag between them, Naota instinctively dove back into the alleyway; hiding behind a mound of snow (which I believed to be a trash can by the odor). As it passed, the guitarist was able to get a semi-clear view of the creature.

It was taller up close, more like sixteen feet now. Its torso was mechanical, a light blue –almost white– chassis. The MM symbol printed on its chest plate. From its bottom, flowed a streamlined, grey waist; connecting to another whitish, iron hip. Both pieces incased in a thick sheet of ice. While the monster was obviously mechanical, much of its body was comprised of another material. The robot's arms, legs, neck, and, even, head were comprised entirely of solid ice. Naota could only cock and eyebrow at this; not being able to real understand how it functioned. However, as the MM bot passed him, he found the answer. Within the pieces of ice in its legs, arms and neck were metal rods. Running down its arms to its clawed hands and down its legs to its stump-like feet. These rods, as the creature moved, heated up to an insane degree; melting the ice. Then, the rods would grow cold, re-freezing the ice around the limbs before they could completely melt. This re-cast the ice in a new shape, allowing an sluggish form of movement. As for its head, the ice was a rather simple, round shape; with two, dark blue eyes poised towards its front. There was a thin mechanism of sorts within. A round, robotic-brain-like object, with rods bent around it, protecting it. The eyes were connected to this.

As the MM bot stomped down the sidewalk, Naota poked his head out from around the corner; giving the machine a proper name, "Frostbite..."

Naota glared at the ice-bot, watching it trudge through the snow; before he thought about it.

"He's after Ninamori!"

"What in the hell is that!?" Kitsurubami screamed, gazing in terror open the image of Frostbite on their monitors.

The image was courtesy of the bug Amarao planted on Naota's hoody a day before. The commander stood before the huge screen in deep thought, the video frozen on the sight of the icy robot passing by the alleyway Naota was hiding in.

"Right... Now I get it..." Amarao said to himself, although out load.

"Get what?" the lieutenant asked, her eyes fixed on the screen.

Within the darkest depths of Medical Mechanica, the monoliths stood in conference.

"All is going according to plan," 01 assured 02 and 03.

"The machine was able to enter the city without detection?" 03 asked.

"Yes," 01 answered, simply.

"And it is meeting its objective, I assume?" 02 quizzed.

"It is in the process," 01 said.

The three moved on to other matters.

"What is the status of the bounty hunter?" 03 asked.

"He is still undergoing the neccessary repairs. He was severely damaged in his previous battle and much of his mechanical frame was destroyed," 01 explained.

"Ahh, it seems that he underestimated the boy..." 03 thought aloud.

"Yes, Fender was unaware of Naota's ability to excess Atomsk's power to such a degree; this led to his defeat in their previous encounter..." 01 explained.

"When we he be battle ready?" 02 asked.

"Within the next seventy-two hours..." 01 concluded.

"Then it is then when we make our move..." 03 announced, as the three faded into the dark.

Naota ran through the snow to the best of his abilities; ignoring the numbing pain in his hands and feet. He'd been running since Frostbite had left his sight, taking his opportunity to give chase without being detected by the robot. Doing his best to stay out of sight and remain unintelligible to the machine, Naota ducked in and out of various alleys and side roads. However, within the last few minutes, Naota had lost track of Frostbite and was now running blindly through the snowy streets. Naota finally came to a stop, in order to catch his breath.

The cold air was really taking a toll on his lungs.

"D-Damn it..." Naota cursed under his breath; half chattering, half gasping.

Naota found himself standing in the middle of a crossroads; with no clue to which way Ninamori and Frostbite went.

He sighed –as best he could with the ice forming on the inside of his lungs– and sat down in the middle of the street, sinking two feet down into the snow. Naota crossed his legs, placing his hands over his eyes.

A rumble came from behind.

Naota flipped around! Coming down upon him was a large, icy, stump of a foot. Naota could only stare, the frozen limb coming down atop him. In an instant, Naota was pulled out of harms way, the icy foot coming down in his wake. The force pulled him out of the street and behind a snow-covered car.

Naota watched as Frostbite began to stomp his way down the boulevard, before turning to his savior, "Thanks for the hel-Ninamori!"

The violet haired girl hushed him, poking her head out from behind the car to be sure that the MM bot didn't hear.

The guitarist through his arms around her frantically, hugging her tightly. "Eri, I was so worried about you..." Naota confessed, rubbing his cheek against her's.

"Worried about _me_...?" Ninamori repeated, unable to believe her ears.

"Yeah..."

The girl grinned, snuggling into him, "You're still warm..."

Naota broke the embrace, holding Eri out an arm's length a head of him, his hands on her shoulders. "Eri, that robot, did it come out of your head?"

Ninamori shook her head, "No... I thought it came out of your's... Did it?"

"No..."

The two could only sit in thought.

"Well, Medical Mechanica has realized that their 'send a robot through some kid's head' plan of attack is, more or less, like clockwork. Not to mention that foghorn that sounds everytime one of the kid's heads go pop. So, now, they're sending their machine right out into the city; directly from their factory..." Amarao deducted, scratching his chin and gazing intently at the huge screen before him.

"So..." Kitsurubami began, composing herself and thinking reasonablely, "the snowstorm was a cover; to release their machine without being detected..."

"Exactly," Amarao nodded, staring grimly up at the MM bot upon the screen.

"We need to get home," Naota said, as he stood from behind the car; the MM bot just leaving his sight.

"But, Naota," she began, turning for a moment to gaze at the disappearing figure of Frostbite, "we can't leave that _thing_ terrorizing the town..."

Naota realized she was right, a frown spreading across his face. "Alright, we need to call for backup..."

"Damn!" Naota shouted, kicking the telephone booth, which's door and glass with completely frozen over in thick ice.

"Scratch that idea..." Ninamori sighed, her arms crossed, rubbing her arms.

"Alright then..." Naota said, turning and looking to the sky.

The guitarist brought his fingers to his lips, whistling. In an instant, his EB-0 materialized in his grasp; enticing an "ooh" from Ninamori.

The boy turned to her, "Now, we take him on by ourselves..."

"How?" Ninamori quizzed.

"I got a plan..." Naota grinned, staring down the icy road.

While Mamimi and Haruko sat in the family room, the redheaded photographer couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

"Haru-san? You think Naota-san and Eri-chan are okay?" she asked.

"Oh, they're fine..." Haruko, unconvincingly, reassured.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, Ninamori's prolly just giving Ta-kun a 'snowjob'," Haruko grinned, enticing a surprised gasp from Mamimi.

The MM bot dubbed Frostbite stomped through the streets of Mabase, searching blindly for his objective. The icy robot had left the inner part of the city and was now walking the edge road upon the now frozen riverside. The machine trudged his way down the street.

Naota grinned, watching from the cover of the bridge, as Frostbite neared his trap.

"Hope this works..."

Without warning, the edge of the street collapsed; taking the MM bot down to the riverside with it. As the snow fell away it revealed that a whole chunk of concrete was blown away and had been packed in with now. The weight of Frostbite caused it to give way.

Naota grinned, "Who says gorilla warfare tactics are stupid and primitive?"

The boy flew out from under the bridge, leaping high over the fallen robot with his EB-0 drawn. Being the sluggish automaton it was, Frostbite hadn't a chance to block Naota's attack; which smashed through its right arm. Frostbite didn't hesitate to sit up –as its robotic waist and torso were fully capable of speedy movement– and knock Naota away. The guitarist came to a sliding stop beside Ninamori, who was crouched behind one of their mounds of snow.

"Eri, now!" Naota screamed.

The violet haired bassist whipped out Canti's makeshift snow blower, flipping it on. This time, however, the blower shot out chunks of solid ice; which smashed right into Frostbite's face, crushing its face.

As Frostbite was occupied, Naota leapt in for another hit. Mad-dashing towards the MM bot, Naota tossed his guitar; which took of Frostbite's left arm of at the elbow and circled back around taking off its right leg, before returning to Naota's hand.

Naota and Nimaori stopped their onslaught to watch Frostbite collapse into a pile of metal and ice.

Naota and Ninamori huffed a sigh of relief, as they turned to leave; walking down the riverside.

In their wake, a shadow rose over them.

Naota and Ninamori stopped as the shadow over came them, turning to face its owner. Frostbite had raisin high above them. Snow was drawn to the newly installed rods –the former rods, had being destroyed, had ejected and been replaced with a new set right out of the MM bot's torso and hips– compacting against it and freezing, creating a whole new limb. First its leg, then its arms, then its head. Its blue, mechanic eyes focused on the two.

"Eri..." Naota began, Frostbite beginning to move, "Run!"

Frostbite gyrated its body, instantly melting it right arm and sending it splashing into Naota; instantly freezing and catching him in its grasp.

"Eri, get out of here!" Naota shouted, struggling to break free from Frostbite's grip (difficult, as he'd dropped his EB-0 and, due to the circumstances, he couldn't call his Flying V).

Ninamori began to protest, but realized she had no choice. She span around, running from the scene of the battle.

As Frostbite held the boy in his grasp, more ice began to build around Naota. He struggled to breathe, even as the ice began to cover his face. Of course, it was futile; the ice froze over him. Eri had noticed this sight and realized that Naota would die if she didn't act.

Ninamori crouched behind a mound of snow, clutching her head in panic.

'_Think, Eri, think!'_ the girl screamed at herself.

She turned to the battlefield, horrified by the sight of Naota becoming a human popsicle.

"Think!" she screamed aloud.

Her eyes came upon the sight of Naota's EB-0.

"Bingo."

Dashing towards the guitar, Ninamori slid over the ground, picking it up and slipping around; flinging the guitar with all her might. The EB-0 hit its mark, smashing through the ice and setting Naota free. The boy landed, taking Ninamori and his guitar in tow, flipping out of the way of the raging MM bot.

The two took refuge behind another mound, abet larger.

Naota turned to his companion. "I owe you one, Eri..." the boy sighed with relief.

"You owe me more then one, Naota," the violet haired girl grinned.

Naota couldn't help but smile upon finding Eri's sense of humor remained strong even in this dire situation.

"Stay here," Naota said, simply, leaping off towards the recovering robot.

As he flew at the machine, Naota had a simple method in his head on how to take it down. With its ability to recover its lost limbs, taking them off would be to no avail. So Naota had decided to focus on Frostbite's torso. Naota smashed his EB-0 into the surprised robot's chest, only to be surprised himself upon discovering the results. The layer of ice that covered the MM bot's torso had completely taken the blow, leaving its body without a scratch.

Frostbite retaliated, smacking Naota to the ground and following up with another onslaught.

"Eri!" Naota called, avoiding an attack from the fridged robot, "I need you to think of a way to stop this thing! Alright!?"

"Yeah!" Ninamori nodded, sitting back down to think, _'Alright, this thing recovers its limbs by freezing snow (though likely water particles in the air as well). It protects its robotic body with ice, which also re-freezes. So, with that in mind...' _

"Naota! The river!" she called.

Naota snapped his fingers, dodging another attack from the MM bot, "That's it!"

The boy zoomed around the machine, bringing Frostbite between him and the river. Naota leapt towards the MM bot with all his strength, knocking onto the frozen river and through the ice. Upon contact with the water, the rods and torso began to freeze it immediately; and, in mere seconds, the machine formally known as Frostbite had encased itself in ice and sank to the bottom of the river.

Naota wiped a frozen bead of sweat from his forehead, turning to Ninamori with a grin as she came up beside him.

"Nice job, Eri..."

"Well, I didn't get an A in Science for nothing," the girl grinned.

**Ride on Shooting Star**

Orange no slide utusu sora

Sponge no pride burasagete

Spider

Iki touta sono yakan wa

kakusanaku tatte ii'n da

Iro no tsuita yume mitai na

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

Grunge no hamster otona bite

Revenge no logster hiki tsurete

Sniper

fuchi dotta sono sekai ni

nani ga mier'ute iiunda nerau mae ni

sawaritai na

Ride on shooting star

kimi wo sagashite kindan shojoujju

uso wo tsuita

Ride on shooting star

kokoro no koe de sandaijuu no you ni

utai tsutzuketa

**Chapter Trivia:**

1.) The opening scene is reminiscent of the opening scene of episode five, Brittle Bullet; save the snowballs in place of actual guns.

2.) Haruko taunts Naota's team with "You missed me, you cockeyed lobotomy patients!", this is a line delivered by comedian Lewis Black when he played a hornbill on an episode of My Gym Partner's a Monkey. (I really don't think the target audience of five to eight year olds would know what a "lobotomy" is though...)

3.) I decided to make this chapter focus primarily on Naota and Ninamori, because I thought I was neglecting her in previous chapters.


End file.
